Tails In Beacon Hills
by ElenaxoxoSilber
Summary: After a boating accident, Isabella "Ella" Walker turned into something she hadn't believe in since she was 6: a mermaid. Once her parents are deployed, what happens when Ella moves from Australia to the states and moves in with her cousin Stiles in her hometown of Beacon Hills, CA? Little does she know, she's the least supernatural creature in Beacon Hills.
1. Welcome To Beacon Hills

**April 8** **th** **update:**

 **This story has been up for a few months but I'm now realizing that part of the first chapter didn't post, so I'm just reupdating it!**

 **In a short summary of my previous authors note: this will be an h2o just add water and TEEN WOLF cross over. Really just teen wolf, I'm just using some aspects from h2o. It starts in the middle of season 1! Reviews are much appreiciated! I loveyou all!**

* * *

My toes scrunched up in the dry, warm sand as the sun beat on my skin. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath of the salty, Australian air.

"I can't believe you're leaving." Cleo Sertori, one of my best friends, finally broke the tense silence.

"I thought your parents were stationed here permanently." Emma Gilbert, my other best friend, mused.

"I thought so too." I agreed with a sigh, staring out to the waves that crashed against the shore.

"What's going to happen now?" Rikki Chadwick, my third best friend, asked while making attempts to keep a straight face. I wish I could have answered her. The truth was, I couldn't even answer the question myself. After three and a half years, I was leaving the one place I could truly call home.

Three and a half years wasn't a long time to spend in a place. But for me, it was. I ended up in the Gold Coast almost four years ago, and now I didn't want to ever leave.

It was the downside of being a Navy brat. Sure there were the pros of seeing the world and meeting all different kinds of people, but when you finally settle down into the one place you could finally call home, it could rip you apart.

It happened to me all to often, but Australia was different. It was more than just leaving a place I loved, it was leaving the secret and my best friend behind. It was like my life was crumbling to pieces.

Some may think I was being over dramatic, but this wasn't the kind of 'pinky-swear-or-our-friendships-over' kind of secret. This was something that bonded four random girls together for life. Having to deal with this secret on my own while the girls had each other was going to be a rollercoaster of a ride.

It worried me how I was supposed to keep my secret in such a new, strange, place. How could I hide that I grew a tail ten seconds after I touched water?

Confused? So was I.

It all started a few months after I moved to Queensland. One event led to another and long story short, my three best friends and I ended up stuck on the mysterious Mako Island. Another long story short, we ended up falling into a cave and the only way out of it was through a little pool that led out to the ocean. Once we were all in, it started bubbling and all this weird crap and the next day—bam—all four of us grew orange, scaly mermaid tails ten seconds after we touched water. Almost three years later, three boys new our secret and the four of us were inseparable. Well, until now.

"I don't know." I finally answered, rubbing my hand over the Mako Island sand. I let the grains fall through my fingers. I couldn't begin to even think about leaving. Traveling to America was the last thing I wanted on my plate right now. Seeing my parents came in as a close second. I felt betrayed—like they stabbed me right in the heart. Sure, they may have been working on a boat off the coast of California for the next God knows how long, but did they really have to deport me with them?

"How are you even going to swim? How do some people in the states deal without an ocean?" Cleo groaned. The thought of not being able to walk a few miles to the beach and dive myself in the ocean to forget about all my human problems pissed me off to all means. It was something I couldn't even bare to deal with.

"I guess it'll make hiding the secret easier." I shrugged, wondering how bad the small town of Beacon Hills could really be for hiding my secret. At least nobody there would suspect anything supernatural.

* * *

George and Savannah Walker boarded their next flight like it was just a vacation—minus the crying of not seeing their daughter for God knows how much longer. Of course, they gave the whole "call me to talk about anything" and "don't get in trouble" spiel. But just like that, they boarded their government issued plane and took off, leaving their helpless daughter in the middle of a northern California airport. Now, what the hell was I supposed to do?

I stood outside at the pick up area with my luggage awaiting the arrival of my uncle and cousin suddenly regretting my outfit choice. Jean shorts and a sweatshirt was ideal for Australia, why was California so damn cold? Digging my phone out of my back pocket, I quickly began texting each of my friends that I arrived safely and I was already over being in the United States.

 _Rikki: How obnoxious is everyone?_

 _Emma: Try to stay positive._

 _Cleo: Did your parents leave yet?_

Just as I was about to text each of them back, I was forced to stop. An older man and a teenage boy pulled up in a police cruiser, waving to me frantically.

"Bella! Bella, hey!" I cringed, hearing the name I haven't been called in many years. I looked up and sighed, forcing to compose myself.

"Hey Uncle John." I forced a smile. The teen boy next to him awkwardly fidgeted to wave. "Hey, Stiles." I added.

"Stiles, go help her." John pressed, pushing his son out of the car. Stiles stumbled out and managed to drag my bags over to the trunk.

"So, how was the flight?" The teen asked quickly. Stiles was just as I remembered him, besides the two or three feet of extra height. He had the same gawky smile, lanky figure, and short brunette hair. John looked the same, besides the brand new Sherriff badge pinned on his uniform. There were a few more gray hairs here and there, but after Aunt Claudia died, I figured there would be.

"Long." I answered and nodded, proceeding to slide myself into the back seat.

"I bet your exhausted, kiddo." John stated, taking off out of the airport once Stiles was back in the front seat.

"Yeah, who knew time change could be so rough." I laughed quietly, secretly meaning who knew being back in Beacon Hills would be so rough. God, I couldn't wait to get out of this forsaken town.


	2. 2 Lunatics, 1 Full Moon

In the eleven years of my absence, the Stilinski household managed to stay the same. My room turned out to be Claudia's old study. The study had completely redone—the walls repainted and the furniture replaced. I didn't know how I'd feel if I had to stay in the same room as mom's dead sister. A few doors down from my room was the bathroom in which I shared with Stiles. I thanked my lucky stars it came equipped with a tub.

"Hey, Bella." Stiles awkwardly fumbled into the room.

"Hey." I muttered, not looking up from unpacking my suitcase. I reached inside and grabbed a picture frame out, placing it on my nightstand.

"How's it going?" Stiles wondered, taking a quick glance at the picture of Emma, Cleo, Rikki, and I in our bathing suits.

"Same as an hour ago." I shrugged.

"That boring?" Stiles asked, tripping over one of my bags and landing with a thump on the floor.

"Not anymore." I smirked. Stiles rolled his eyes before scurrying himself up and trying to shrug the situation off.

"Well, I'm guessing dad showed you the house before he left for work?"

"Yup. Right at home." I thought as I pulled my brunette waves up into a pony tail. Stiles pursed his lips and looked around, trying to find something to converse about.

"Stiles? We really need to talk!" A boy's voice echoed through the house after the sound of a door slamming.

"Hey, hey! Scott!" Stiles immediately called.

"Look. About the full—" Just as Stiles was about to rush out of the room, a tan brunette boy came rushing in.

"About that full box of cereal you left here last night? Yeah, it's in the pantry." Stiles laughed. The two boys looked to me with wary smiled before Stiles added, "He _really_ likes cereal."

"Right…" I shrugged off, wondering how weird living with my cousin would really be. An awkward silence settled over the three of us.

"Scott, this is my cousin Bella." Stiles finally piped up.

"Ella, actually." I uncomfortably smiled. "No ones called me Bella since I was six."

"Right. My bad." Stiles ran a hand through his buzz cut. "Well, _Ella_ , this is my best friend Scott."

"McCall, right?" I vaguely remembered.

"Yeah." The teen laughed, flashing a toothy smile.

"We were in kindergarten together." I chuckled.

"Nice." Scott nodded. "Hey Stiles, can we talk outside?"

"Yeah, bud." Stiles sighed. The two trotted off, leaving me to my lonesome. Carelessly thrown on top of one of my suitcases, my phone began buzzing. I grabbed it, opening the new message from Lewis McCartney, one of the two guys who knew my secret. He was Cleo's on again off again boyfriend and best friend. Their relationship was complicated to say the least.

 _Lewis: Full moon tomorrow night for you guys, heads up._

Crap, I sighed. I completely and utterly forgot that the full moon was this week, let alone twenty-four hours away. How was I supposed to explain myself to Stiles or John? Where on earth could I go find cardboard and duct tape in this god forsaken town? I could barely find my own wallet.

"Hey," Stiles leaned into my room. I shut my phone and tossed it back on the bed. I turned around to face my cousin, who looked a bit frazzled. "Scott's staying for dinner. We're thinking of ordering pizza, you down?"

"Just cheese." I nodded.

* * *

Satisfied with finishing unpacking most of my clothes, I put my suitcases away for the night and went out to enjoy the pizza with Scott and Stiles.

"God I'm starved." Scott thought as he plopped the pizza onto the kitchen table, eyeing the boxes like they were his own child. "Really, dude?" Scott looked at Stiles situated at the kitchen sink scrubbing off three dirty plates.

"Oh god, please tell me I'm not living with two pigs." I sighed.

"I mean, John cleans sometimes." Scott smirked.

"Psh, right." Stiles scoffed. "Scott can't even talk, he's the dirtiest person I know."

"That's not saying much." Scott winked. Stiles rolled his eyes, turning the faucet's spray hose away from the dishes and pointing the head directly at Scott and I. Before I noticed, I could feel drops of cold water spraying me across the face. Instinctively, my hands shot up to guard my face as I gasped. Stiles immediately shut off the water with a loud laugh. Ten…nine…

"Seriously, dude?" Scott groaned before turning towards me. "This is why he's benched from playing. No aim." He laughed but suddenly stopped when he saw the intense expression on my face. "You good? It's just water." Eight…seven...

I took off in a sprint towards the downstairs bathroom next to John's office. With each turn I took into a different hallway, I prayed I was going the right way. Six…five…

"Ella? You okay?" Stiles frantically called. Four…three…

I finally reached the bathroom and launched myself into the small room, slamming the door behind me.

"Aw man." I sadly muttered under my breath. The second the door closed, I felt my legs tingle and give out from under me as my body turned into water for a split second and bubbles surrounded me. I ended up on the tile floor with a thump.

"Ella? Ella, what was that?" Stiles yelled.

"Nothing" I shouted, blowing a piece of hair out of my face. "I'm ok!" The two boys stormed towards the bathroom door. One of them began jiggling the handle, but I held the door shut with my tail.

"Can we come in?" Scott wondered.

"No." I barked. "I'm just drying off. I'm good." I assured.

"But we heard a thump." Stiles added. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom counter and began drying myself off as quickly as possible.

"I slipped that's all."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Scott repeated. Soon I found myself with my legs once again. I hopped up and opened the door.

"You two are quiet pushy, aren't you?" I rose a brow. Scott crinkled his nose and stared at me with curiosity. "How about we go back to that pizza?" I questioned, walking past the boys and back into the kitchen.

* * *

"Ugh, come on. Where are you?" I groaned while combing the room for my left Converse sneaker. I was all set for school…unfortunately.

"Have you checked under the bed?" Stiles asked, walking into my room.

"Obviously." I huffed…wait, did I? I got on my knees, looking under the bed and spotting the black sneaker immediately. I sighed, "never mind." Stiles held back a laugh as I sat on the bed and slipped on the shoe.

"Soo," Stiles mused, "are you excited?" I looked up from tying my laces, staring at the teen.

"Excited?" I chuckled with the raise of my brows.

"Okay, given." He pursed his lips, nodding his head.

"You ready to go?" I stood up and hung my backpack over my shoulder.

"Yeah, give me a second." Stiles mumbled, disappearing down the hall into his room. He emerged with a gym bag draped on his shoulder, its contents clinging together.

"What, are you taking your own equipment with you?" I laughed, hearing metal clack against metal.

"It's uh, it's lacrosse stuff. Coach is weird with our equipment." Stiles stuttered, rushing down the stairs. I followed him into the kitchen as he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and chugged a few gulps of orange juice straight out of the carton.

"You want some?" Stiles offered, shoving the juice at me. I didn't move, my eyes zeroed in on the condensation dripping off the carton.

"I'm good." I shook my head. Stiles shrugged, take a few more swallows before placing it back in the refrigerator.

"Okay, vamanos." Stiles cried in a horrible Spanish accent. "But not like that. Don't you want to change into something that maybe wont give you hypothermia?" I looked down at my outfit. Shorts, sneakers, and a zip up. What's wrong with that?

"It can't be that cold." I stated, rolling my eyes.

"Suit yourself." Stiles shrugged, leading us outside to his blue Jeep. I froze the second I stepped out into the Northern California air.

"Rethinking your wardrobe choice?" Stiles smirked.

"Rethinking your wardrobe choice?" I mocked Stiles' in a baby tone as I stormed back into the house in search for a pair of leggings.

"Not going to say I told you so, but I told you so!" Stiles called after me.

* * *

I stuffed my hands into my jacket, wishing I could magically disappear. If only there was an ocean I could go run into. Though many eyes were trained on me, many were following the several cops walking around the school.

"Is this a daily thing?" I asked Stiles as we walked towards the office. The confused teen looked at me. "Uncle John and his buddies. Are they always patrolling the hallways?"

"No. I mean sometimes, kind of." Stiles stammered. "There was an incident here the other day. They're just here for security reasons." Stiles shrugged it off.

"What kind of incident involves a group of officers walking around like someone died?" I laughed. Stiles face went pale. "Oh my God, did someone die?"

"Kind of." He winced.

"Stiles, you don't kind of die." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, the janitor got murdered." My eyes bugged out. Did he just say murdered? Murder as in, someone killed someone else, murder?

"Well that's something you don't hear every day." I paused. "Do they know who did it?"

"Some guy named Derek." The two of us stopped short as the office door opened, uncle John and a few officers coming out along side the principal. "I'll be right back." Stiles mumbled, walking off towards his dad. I leaned against the wall, waving back at John when he acknowledged my presence. I continued looking down, admiring my shoes since that seemed to be the most interesting thing I could put my mind to instead of awkwardly looking around.

"This is really important! You have to be careful tonight, especially tonight." My head snapped up when I heard Stiles' warning. Tonight was the full moon, why was he so concerned that his dad had to be careful especially tonight?

"I'm always careful." John assured.

"Dad, you've never dealt with this kind of thing before."

"Stiles, I'm always careful. There's even a state detective in for the case." John dismissed his son to go to class. Before he could walk away, I grabbed his arm.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. The office is right there; I'll see you after class." He grumbled.

"Wait." I stopped him. "Why does your dad have to be especially careful tonight?" Stiles squared his jaw.

"Derek's a dangerous guy, I need him to be careful." Stiles admitted. My tension relieved, happy Stiles didn't know anything.

"I'll see you later." I nodded, the two of us walking our separate way. Though Stiles' words had eased my nerves, I still felt like something wasn't right.

* * *

There was nothing more I hated than walking around the cafeteria looking dazed and confused, and especially like a loner. Stiles hadn't arrived yet, so I was stuck walking around with my food filled tray looking for a place to sit. After grabbing a straw from besides the plastic silverware, I found myself wandering along the edge of the cafeteria. That was, until I saw Scott knocking the back of his head against a broken part of the wall.

"I'm sure there's better ways to get a concussion than this." I laughed, catching his attention. The angered expression on his face disappeared.

"Hey." He sheepishly greeted, his cheeks turning red.

"Now," I placed my tray on the ground and sat down indian style beside my new friend, "why is a guy like you sitting alone over here banging his head against the wall?"

"It's complicated" he muttered.

"Well, isn't it great we've got an entire forty-five minutes to talk about it then?" I looked up at the clock on the wall. "Come on buddy, spit it out." I carefully opened my water bottle and popped my straw inside, taking a sip out of it. Scott sighed.

"My girlfriend—my ex girlfriend. I messed up and now this guy I hate is trying to win her over." Scott stared off into the distance.

"Which one?" I wondered. Scott motioned me over towards a girl with curly brunette locks and alabaster skin. Her doe eyes were wide and her teeth were a sparking white as she laughed at a joke the boy next to her told. She bit into a cookie carefully, making sure not to smudge her nude lipstick.

"Her name's Allison." Scott sighed once more, "She's…" Scott didn't have to finish the sentence. Allison was beautiful, flawless might have been more of a correct word. Her dimples were enough to make anyone smile. Though her clothes were a little too girly for me, she filled them out perfectly. "Perfect." Scott finished.

"Well, I can't disagree with you there." I ripped off a piece of my peanut butter sandwich and popped it into my mouth. "What happened? You didn't cheat on her, right?" I questioned, my eyes narrow. If there was one thing I didn't tolerate, it was cheaters.

"No, never!" Scott quickly defended. "I lied to her." He admitted, letting out a heavy breath he'd been holding in. I'd say liars were close on my list second to cheaters, but that would label me as hypocritical. I couldn't hold it against them being I was one as well. My secret had caused me to lie all the time—whether it be to my family or friends. It was hard, and it sure took a toll.

"Really?" Was all I could think of. Really? I couldn't think of a better reply than really?

"Yeah, I'm an idiot." He muttered, his hands turning into tight fists. I placed my hand on his, causing him to look at me.

"Mistakes happen. If she can't forgive you, her loss." I assured.

"Thanks, Ella." Scott retracted his hand from under mine when he noticed Allison was staring our way. "But, I'm sure Jackson can convince her otherwise." He mumbled, staring at the handsome blonde boy besides Allison. "I'll see you later." Scott got up, grabbing his backpack, and quickly walked out of the cafeteria. Allison shifted her eyes away and started talking to the blonde boy—Jackson—once more. Jackson looked like your typical grade A high school douche bag. Perfect hair, perfect teeth, and from the Gucci belt around his waist, it looked like he had the perfect life. I knew guys like him back in Australia. I'd compare him to Zane, but it turned out Zane wasn't all too bad after all. He was just the typical popular jock with an entitled stick up his ass, mentally putting everyone else down. Including a heartbroken Scott. My eyes shifted around to observe my surroundings before I balled my fist up, staring at the coke bottle clutched in Jackson's hand.

"Come on." I whispered under my breath, vaguely seeing tiny little bubbles begin to form at the bottom of the drink. Before I knew it the bottle began to shake and just like that, the coke exploded like a volcano, spraying Jackson in the face. The teen yelled out, causing the cafeteria to become still. Allison looked surprised, but chuckled at the event as she grabbed napkins to clean up the table.

"Who's idea of a joke is this? Greenberg?" Jackson yelled. I stifled my laughter by pursing my lips together. Every student in the cafeteria looked around before quietly beginning to start talking once more. Jackson stormed out of the cafeteria, passing by me and my stifled laughing in the process.

"Shut it, new girl." He barked. I definitely didn't like Jackson.

* * *

"Annnnnd, done." I smiled satisfactorily after I finished taping up the last box against my window. I wiped away a bead of sweat from my forehead, happy with my job. I looked down to my alarm clock. Perfect! I had thirty minutes to spare before the moon rose. Now all I had to do was stock up on some water, food, and Netflix until I fell asleep. This was going to be a breeze. The bathroom window was already taped over, the shower curtain closed so Stiles wouldn't become suspicious of the black garbage bag taped over the window.

"Ella, you in there?" Stiles called after he aggressively knocked.

"Yeah, give me a second!" I replied, quickly tripping over some boxes and clothes to close the curtains. Once again, didn't need Stiles becoming suspicious my first full moon here. I rushed back over to the door, unlocking it and opening it to greet my cousin with a smile.

"Hey."

"Whatcha doing?" He asked, stuffing his hands into his flannels pocket as he saw the boxes and tape lying on my bed.

"Just rearranging some stuff." I shrugged.

"Yeah," Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, "listen, I'm going to Scott's and wont be back till later. Like way later. You're good here, right?"

"Yup! Perfectly fine!" I immediately answered.

"Sorry you can't come, Scott's just kind of bummed about Allison. He needs some bro time."

"Well, I wouldn't want to intrude on bro time. Not exactly my scene." I laughed, quickly looking back to view the alarm clock's time. I was still good.

"Can you just promise me one thing?" Stiles piped up.

"Does it require me getting out of bed?" I smirked, half joking.

"Actually no, it kind of encourages you to stay in it." Stiles awkwardly laughed. "Don't go out tonight."

"Because of the full moon?" I faux laughed, Stiles words still haunting me from earlier.

"No, no, no! Full moon? Why because of the full moon? There's a full moon tonight?" Stiles stuttered.

"You told your dad tonight was going to be more dangerous than other nights." I reminded.

"There's a killer on the loose, I don't want you getting hurt. That's all."

"No worries. I'm thinking about going to bed early anyways. Long day at school, ya know?"

"Yeah." Stiles nervously laughed before checking the time on his watch. "Well, Scott gets antsy when I'm late. So, I'll see you later."

"Later, Stiles." I smiled, closing my door behind me as my cousin heading into the bathroom. I plugged in my iPod to my speakers, turning up my music while I wrung my hair into a pony tail and changed into some pajama shorts and a baggy crew neck. Unfortunately, my music may have been too loud for me to hear Stiles calling and asking why there was a bag taped over the window. And it was also to loud to hear him ripping the bag and tape off, letting moon light flood into the bathroom.

* * *

Full moons never let me sleep well, unless I was moonstruck of course. I'd have horrible nightmares about my secret being revealed. This time it was revealed to Stiles and John—both of who were which ashamed to have a fish girl as a family member. I tried laughing it off, knowing that would never happen. Nobody in Beacon Hills would know of about the mermaid walking around right before their very eyes. Right? Right. I ripped off my sleep mask and tossed it aside, frustrated with my thoughts continuing on. The house was silent being that Stiles was no doubted still at Scott's and John was covering the night shift looking for suspect murdered Derek whatshisname. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slipped my freezing feet into a pair of black and white bootie slippers Cleo had gifted me before I left. Apparently, she took the fact that it was going to be cold here much more seriously than I. My hands ran over my face, a sleepy haze draped over me. I unlocked my bedroom door and retreated out into the cold hallway, heading straight for the bathroom. I stepped in, my eyes glaring straight ahead as I expected the shower curtain to still be blocking the garbage bagged window. Instead, a full and shiny moon peaked through the window, shining its light straight onto me. I froze instantly. Before I had the chance to think of anything besides cursing out Stiles' name, my mind was overtaken by the moon. A smile overtook my lips and a giggle escaped me.

* * *

Water. I need water. _Wellll_ , if we were going to be specific, I needed Mako. But Mako Island was thousands and thousands of miles away from me. Which wasn't ok.

I needed Mako, but water would have to do for now.

For Christ sake, why wasn't there an ocean in Beacon Hills? Whose idea was it to have this town _sooooo_ far away from the ocean.

I giggled, it wasn't my idea. Wait, why was that funny? I giggled again.

All I wanted to do was touch water. It was a need, sort of like air. It was the urge gnawing in the back of my head and the inside of my chest.

Minutes turned into hours, at least they felt like they did. I wasn't sure how much time had passed—it was one of the effects of the full moon. I had no concept of time nor did I want to. All that mattered was the moon, the water, and my tail. I walked behind homes in search of an inland waterway that would take me to a river. Finally, a smile spread across my face as a joyous feeling overtook my body. Beyond the houses, there was a canal. I rushed forward until I got to the edge of the grass. Five feet down was the dark and welcoming water with the full moon reflecting back at me. I smiled down to the calm water before throwing my hands over my head and pushing myself off the grass, diving in.

* * *

I groaned, silently wishing for the sun to go back down so I could continue my sleep. Me eyes refused to open while my brain pounded against my skull. I was freezing, shaking in fact. The air conditioner was blaring at an abnormal temperature, and I'd never been so cold in my life. The rustling in my room caused my head to pound more.

"Ugh Stiles. Shut up." I mumbled. The rustling continued. My eyes slowly fluttered open, readying myself to tell Stiles to shut it before I shoved him out the window. Except, Stiles wasn't there.

Nobody was.

I shot up, the fall leaves under me crinkling as I did. I was in the middle of the forest. What the hell was I doing in the middle of the forest?

My eyes squinted as I looked up to the birds chirping at the top of the Sequoia's. The shining sun had reminded me of last nights full moon.

"Shit." I muttered, running a hand over my face. I had successfully managed to get moonstruck and I wasn't sure at all what I had done. The air smelled of burnt wood, causing me to wonder more and more. I remembered finding a nearby lake, but that was about it. I had no recollection of walking in the woods, let alone falling asleep in them. I lifted myself off the ground and brushed the dirt off of my pajamas and picked a leaf out of my hair. I silently prayed Stiles slept over Scott's last night and hadn't seen that I was missing. He'd question me non stop until I'd go absolutely nuts. Turning around on the soles of my fluffy booties, I quickly yelped and stumbled back at the sight of a pale man clad in all black. His green eyes stared at me intensely as he stood a few yards away.

"Can I help you?" I spat out, my heart racing faster than a race horse. The man stared at me, his angular jaw squared. "Or are you just going to stand there?" I huffed.

"Just wondering why a girl like you is asleep in the middle of the woods." He stated, his voice smooth and deep.

"Not really any of your concern." I shrugged. He continued to stare at me, his eyes sending holes through my body like he could read every thought I was thinking. I scrunched my toes inside my booties, shifting my weight uncomfortably. "Little too much to drink, alright?" I crossed my arms over my chest and furrowed my brows.

"On a Monday night?" The man rose his thick brows.

"I don't judge your choices so don't judge mine." I quickly replied, before walking off. My pace quickened and I rushed towards home…wherever that may be.

 **A/N: Wow i hope i get reviews on this! I'm really trying to make this story work. It'll be an Ella and Derek story. I just hope enough people are interested**

 **So Ella will be finding out about the supernatural world soon enough being that the Alpha is roaming around causing trouble for everyone. What do yall think? How do you think she'll find out? Do you think Scott knows what Ella is? What about Derek! Thoughts? Reviews plz :]**


	3. There's More Out There

I was assured I never wanted to leave the warmth of the Stilinski household again once I stepped back inside. A cold chill ran through my body and all I could think about as I trudged up the stairs was a nice hot bath.

I didn't think I'd get it, though.

Stiles' jeep was parked in the driveway, so I knew what was awaiting. I could already imagine the argument we were about to have: 'where were you? What happened? Going out at night is dangerous'. _Yada, yada yada._ I wasn't in the mood for that overprotective crap right now.

I sashayed into my room, eager to change into something besides these dirty pajamas.

"What do you think you're doing?" I spluttered out, seeing Stiles hovering over my desk flipping through my planner.

"Why do you have every full moon circled on your calendar?" Stiles asked accusingly, deep concern buried in his forehead.

"Why are you looking through my stuff?" I retorted.

"And where did you go last night?" He countered back.

"Out." I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest.

"With all the windows covered up with garbage bags?" He rose a brow. A bead of sweat began to form on my forehead as I noticed the windows were free of their coverings, and a heap of black garbage bags and duct tape laid on the floor.

"Seriously? Are you the one who took the bag off?" My jaw dropped.

"Why were the windows covered up?" Stiles repeated.

"Maybe I have a problem with full moons!" I yelled, throwing my hands up. That was possibly the stupidest answer I could give. Immediately I began fishing around my brain for reasons as to why I had to cover my windows up and as to why I hated full moons. Stiles puckered his lips and shook his head disapprovingly. He dug into the pockets of his pants and pulled out a bunch of purple flowers. "The hell is that?" I spat.

"This isn't going to work. You better get your wolf ass out of my house and stay away from my dad." Stiles shook his head, throwing the flowers at me. There was a moment of silence. I blinked several times, staring at my cousin.

"Excuse me?" I finally spoke up, picking the flower petals out of my hair.

"You heard me. If you're the Alpha, if you're the one doing this to Scott…"

"Doing what to Scott?" What the hell was going on and why was Stiles calling me an Alpha? An alpha of what?

"Turning him? Killing everyone? Don't play stupid, Ella. If that's even your real name."

"Turning him into what? The only one hear turning into anything is you! And it's into a full blown idiot!"

"Just wait till Derek finds out. He's going to kick your little werewolf Alpha ass out so hard you'll be back in Australia before you know it." Stiles shook his head.

"Derek? As in the guy who's killing people you told me about?" I questioned. "And did you just accuse me of being a werewolf?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" He aggressively stated before his skin paled considerably. "And, and you're not reacting the way I thought you would. Why aren't you reacting the way I thought you would? Why are you confused. You shouldn't be confused."

"Maybe because I have no clue what the bloody hell is going on. That and you just told me your best friend is a…werewolf." The word felt foreign coming out out my mouth. I had never believed in werewolves, I'd only joke about them to the girls since we were so affected by the full moon. Stiles was joking right? He had to be. Werewolves weren't real.

"Then, then, if you're not a werewolf, why were the windows covered? Why are the full moon dates circled? Huh?" I remained still, frozen like a statue. Of all the things I could tell Stiles, what was the most believable?

"I was in a boating accident back in Australia." It was the first thing to blurt out of my mouth. I took a deep breath in and prepared myself. "It was on a full moon right off of a deserted island sixty miles off shore. I, I cover up the windows so I don't have to deal with the PTSD." I nodded, trying to make myself believe the own story. Every time I blinked, I could see myself stranded in the moon pool. Then getting my tail. And then _all_ my powers.

"And where were you last night?"

"Enjoying a nice bottle of Vodka to deal with my problems." Stiles paled once more.

"So you're not a werewolf…" he realized, chewing the inside of his cheek. I shook my head. "Are you sure?"

"Are you sure they exist or did you sprinkle some crack over your cheerios this morning?" I retorted.

"Would the latter option make you forget about this conversation?"

"Please tell me this is a joke. Werewolves? Werewolves they're just not as believable as…other things." I stammered.

"What other things? Are there other things? What do you know?"

"Nothing." I immediately stated, pretending as if I didn't know a thing.

"Shouldn't you be more freaked out about this?"

"Trust me I am." I sort of lied. Yeah, I was freaked out that there were werewolves that existed, let alone in the town I live in, but I didn't have the right to freak out. I was a supernatural creature myself. "I don't get it. How?" I wondered.

"Well, apparently creatures of the night live in Beacon Hills." Stiles shrugged.

"Informative." I mumbled. Yeah, creatures _not of the night_ did too.

"The wolf that turned Scott, it's called the Alpha. No one—" Stiles was interrupted by a loud, aggressive knock on the front door before it opened and quickly closing.

"Stiles, I really need to talk to you about last night." Scott charged up the stairs, his voice heavy with regret.

"Look, I'm really, really sorry about everything. I didn't mean anything. I didn't mean to hurt you. But we have to talk about what happened. And what happened after I got out." Scott stopped short in front of my room to see the Stiles and I staring at him. "I—I mean, I beat Stiles' ass at GTA last night. He was really upset." Scott nodded.

"Give it up wolf boy, secrets out." I sighed. Scott's eyes grew to the size of baseballs.

"Stiles! What did you do?" He cried.

"I thought she was the Alpha." He moaned, running frustrated hands over his face.

"Long story." I shrugged.

"Stiles, how could you do this to me?" Scott cried, his cheeks flushed with frustration.

"Scott," I spoke up, "I'm not going to tell your secret. You can trust me." I assured.

"And how can I be so sure?"

"I've been in your place. You don't have to worry."

"This is bigger than anything you can ever imagine, Ella. Don't pretend like you know what I'm going through. If anyone finds out about this, I'm gonna get killed!" I kept my mouth shut. I wanted nothing more than to slap Scott in the face with how much I really did know how he was feeling. I knew more than anyone else.

"You're right." I swallowed a lump in my throat. "But I promise your secrets safe with me." Scott paused for a moment, listening intently on something unknown. He finally lightened up, nodding in belief. "You and this Derek guy, huh?"

"Yeah. The Alpha, we don't know who he is yet, but he's the one who turned me."

"Well, how can we find him?"

" _We_ aren't doing anything. This Alpha dude is a bad person. Very, very bad. Killing machine bad." Stiles announced.

* * *

The three of us sat around the kitchen while Uncle John was working the late shift. Scott and Stiles had explained to me that in the past moth, Scott had been bitten by a werewolf while the two of them had been in the woods that night. Though they both thought this Derek person was the one who bit him, there was another wolf in town. It had some type of control over Scott that made him lose his mind. The Alpha had trapped them all in the school the other night, killing Derek in the process—who was now somehow back alive and was on the run from the cops.

"You blamed the Alpha killing the janitor on this Derek guy?" I gawked.

"He was dead, well until last night." Scott shrugged.

"Derek's probably killed a person. Or ten." Stiles added. "Jail time wouldn't hurt him."

"I'm confused. One minute you're okay with this guy and the next he's like your mortal enemy. Which is it?" I wondered, popping a Dorito in my mouth and ventured into the kitchen.

"Kind of in the middle." Scott scratched the back of his head.

"No! Derek is evil! Evil I tell you." Stiles warned. "Stay away from him."

"Hey Ella, put this back in the fridge?" Scott called, throwing a Coke can my way as I stood in the kitchen. I caught the bottle without another though. That was, until the water droplets of condensation dripped all over my hands. I tossed the bottle onto the counter and began drying my hands and arms off with a nearby dish towel. Stiles caught the entire scene and looked at me curiously.

"Wolf germs." I laughed the situation off.

"Hey!" Scott cried, insulted and thankfully unaware as to what I had just done.

Three cups of coffee. It took three cups of coffee just to get me to feel like I wasn't still asleep. Sleep hadn't been an option last night. Learning of the existence of other supernatural creatures besides myself was a whole revelation. What else was out there? Vampires? Witches? This was a total, sick joke. Yet, at the same time it wasn't. I'd gone back and forth last night playing mind games with myself. I wanted nothing more than to call the girls up and explain the new surprise. We weren't the only ones out there with supernatural abilities.

"So I was thinking maybe we can all get dinner before the game tonight." Allison deliberated. After getting my help with some economics homework, the pretty brunette decided to befriend me. She thought since we shared the same group of friends—meaning Stiles and somewhat Scott at the moment—we should all get to know each other. She wanted me to hang out with Beacon High Princess Lydia Martin more. Apparently, honest to God, she was a good person at heart.

I'd be the judge of that.

"Sure, I just don't know if I'm going though." I shrugged.

"What!" She screeched. "You have to go. Stiles is playing on the field tonight."

"Isn't Stiles horrible?" I cocked my head.

"Not the point."

"Agreed." Lydia came marching up to us, her high heels clicking on the cheap linoleum. "Any friend of Allison is a friend of mine. And you're _totally_ coming to the game with us."

"I guess it's decided." I realized, pursing my lips into a tight line.

"Great." Lydia flashed a pearly white smile. "Isabella, right?"

"Ella." I corrected.

"Well then, Ella, I'll see you tonight." The redhead winked and trotted away. I arched a brow at Allison, truly wondering if I'd get along with the girl.

"Give her a chance." Allison begged.

"Okay, okay." I sighed, surrendering up my hands.

"I've got to go to class. I'll see you later." Allison smiled, waving off as she walked away. I smiled till she left and I continued down the hallway, finally stopping to see Scott frozen at his locker.

"Hey buddy." I patted him on the back. "Wait, No. Too much of a dog name." My giggling came to a quick halt as I saw the grave expression on Scott's face. His soft features were angry, like he was ready to maul any second. Apparently becoming a werewolf took a toll on Scott's anger control—he was like a loose canon.

"Jackson. He knows." Scott gritted through his teeth. "He knows what I am."

"Lydia's boyfriend Jackson?"

"Yes." He barked, punching in his locker. My eyes bulged.

"Whoa there tiger, let's take the anger level down a couple notches. Let's try normal teenage boy level."

"I can't stay calm!" He yelled, his eyes flashing gold. I yelped and wrapped my hand around Scott's wrist, dragging him to the nearby locker room as he continued to hyperventilate.

"I can't believe this!" He cried, rushing himself over to the sink and turning the water on full force and filling up the sink. "He's going to out me to Allison and her family! And my head is going to end up on their wall as a trophy!" Oh that's right, the two did inform me the family of Scott's lover are werewolf hunters. Ironic.

Scott splashed cold water on his face before slashing his hand through the filled sink, spraying water around the room. I stepped back in time, getting out of the splash zone. Scott furrowed his brows and looked at me through the mirrors reflection.

"Okay, okay." I ran my hand through my brown locks. "I'll take care of it." I decided.

"And how do you expect to do something? If Jackson's not scared of a werewolf, he sure isn't going to be scared of a sixteen-year-old girl."

"Seventeen, really." I huffed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm screwed. I'm so dead." Scott cried.

"Not on my watch." I disagreed.

"Just leave it, Ella."

"Seriously, Scott. No one messes with my friends." My lips puckered up in anger before I stormed out of the room.

* * *

Jackson Whitmore was a beautiful man…to say the least. There was only one word that came to mind when I saw him and his angular jawline: _wow_. Was it legal for someone to be that beautiful? Why was it possible for someone to be that beautiful and that douche-y?

The world was a cruel place.

"Hey." I barked, coming up and slamming a hand on Jackson's locker.

"Well hello to you too." He winked, eyeing me from head to toe.

"Ew." I commented, my eyebrows scrunched together in disgust.

"Clearly you want something or you wouldn't be over here." Jackson suggested.

"Yeah, I want you to leave Scott alone."

"Ah I see." He mused, reviewing my body once more. "Are you one of his dog house hounds? I wouldn't peg you for one. But then again, wouldn't exactly peg loser McCall over there as one either."

"Leave. Scott. Alone." I forcefully stated.

"What's in it for me?" Jackson questioned with a cock of his head.

"Me not running you over with Stiles' Jeep." I flatly answered.

"Try me. I'll sue your ass." Jackson winked before turning on his heel and walking away.

"I mean it Jackson! Stay away from him and let this go." I called out.

"Stay out of this, new girl." Jackson wiggled his fingers and walked off. Infuriated and clenching my jaw together, I squeezed my fist and directed all my energy towards Jackson. My teeth gritted and I could hear my heart pounding. As Jackson continued walking, he began fanning himself with his hand as his skin turned a bright red. I leaned myself up against the lockers as I watched Jackson stumbled.

"Hey, dude? You okay?" Danny Mahleani, Jackson's best friend, asked the teen.

"I'm fine." He muttered, pushing past Danny and charging down the hall. I followed a few steps behind so I wasn't seen. Once Jackson flung himself into the locker room, I did the same. I continued to ball my fist at Jackson, heating up his body temperature only to a heat that wouldn't put his life in danger. Jackson hung over one of the sinks, his breathing heavy and deep. Once he turned the sink on, I stopped heating his blood and focused on the faucet. Jackson screeched like a little girl, jumping back as his hand touched the boiling water.

"What the hell?" He spat. As the room continued to steam up, I used my other hand and motioned for the three other sinks beside Jackson to turn on. He jumped back again, his eyes bulging out of his head. I held back a snicker as this was way to entertaining. Jackson began playing with the faucet knobs, confused as to why they wouldn't turn off.

"What the hell?" He repeated! Jackson's breathing rapidly increased and his eyes darted from one sink to another until I cut off all power over the sinks and they all stopped. The room fell silent as the steam disappeared. I hid myself behind a locker, watching the blonde intently. He shook his head before backing up, his eyes filled with fear. And just like that, he ran out of the locker room.

* * *

After I had my fun with Jackson, I strolled into the lunch room with Stiles and the two of us collected a tray of food. We found Scott sitting alone, looking depressed and anxious as he pushed the food on his plate around.

"Hey." I greeted, sitting across from Stiles and Scott.

"Did you get her to give you the necklace?" Stiles whispered to the boy beside him.

"Not exactly." Scott sighed.

"What happened?"

"She told me not to talk to her. At all." He nodded, his lips forming a tight line.

"Harsh." I commented.

"So she's not giving you the necklace?" Stiles muttered through a mouth full of fried chicken.

"She's not giving me the necklace!" Scott barked.

"What necklace is this exactly and why do we need it so bad?" I asked.

"Allison wears this necklace with a wolf symbol on it. Derek said there should be something on the back of it and he needs to see it."

"Gotcha."

"Did you at least find anything else out?" Stiles wondered, shoveling another fork full of food into his mouth.

"Just that I know nothing about girls and that they're totally psychotic."

"Hey, hey." I defensively cried through a mouth full of mac and cheese. I quickly swallowed it and looked at Scott. "First of all, we're not all psychotic. And we're not that hard to figure out. Just don't be an asshole and buy us flowers and you've got yourself a done deal."

"It's not that easy." Scott disagreed.

"Yes, coming from a girl this information is totally, one hundred percent wrong." I blankly blinked at the boy.

"Okay," Stiles interrupted. "I came up with a plan B just in case anything like this happened."

"What's plan B?" Scott wondered.

"Just steal the stupid thing!"

"Can't we at least just try getting Harris?" Scott wondered. Adrian Harris, our chemistry teacher, was in the midst of being questioned by Stiles' dad for the Hale House fires apparently.

"My dad put him under a 24-hour protective detail, okay? The necklace is all we got." He shook his head. Frustrated, Scott rolled his head over with a sigh and looked at me. Scott's face tenses, his brows pushing together.

"He's watching us." He quietly announced. Scott wasn't looking at me, but past me. I turned around to see Jackson staring intently with stone features on his face. Jackson and I locked eyes for a moment. He intently stared me down, causing a lump to form in my throat. His eyes screamed that he knew something, and that something was more than Scott's secret. I swallowed hard, assuring myself that he knew nothing.

"Ignore him." I ordered Scott once I turned back around. The moppy hair teen flinched and his eyes bugged out. "What?"

"Jackson's talking to me and he knows I can hear him." Scott whispered to Stiles and I. Stiles looked over to Jackson before Scott stopped him. "Look at me! Just talk to me! Pretend that this isn't happening. Distract me, please." Scott pleaded. A wide eyed Stiles kept silent. "Say something! Talk to me!" Scott barked.

"I can't think of anything! My minds a complete blank!" Stiles stumbled over the words.

" _Your_ mind is a complete blank? Yours?" Scott gawked.

"First time for everything." I eyed Stiles.

"I can't think under this kind of pressure!" Stiles whined. "FYI he's not even sitting with them anymore." Stiles discreetly pointed. I looked over my shoulder to see Jackson's once occupied seat, empty. My eyes began darting around the room in search for Jackson, but I soon stopped once Scott said 'yes' under his breath. Stiles and I looked at him in fear. His tan hand was gripped tightly around his water bottle. Scott's teeth gritted together and his body was shaking. The water bottle crunched under Scott's grip as he brought it to his lips.

"Scott, don't let him do this to you." I ordered, placing one hand under the table and balling my fist in attempts to cool Scott's body down. His breathing labored as he grabbed onto his tray, holding it for dear life. And suddenly, it cracked in two, sending a wave of silence across the cafeteria. I continued to cool Scott's body down while the wolf inside him fought me with his heating anger. Scott squeezed his eyes shut and shivered.

"I need to go." He mumbled before sprouting out of his chair and quickly exiting the cafeteria. I had every intention to go over to Jackson, who was leaning against a vending machine, and use my powers on it till it malfunctioned on him. But when I tried to stand up, Stiles grabbed my forearm and shook his head.

"Just leave it." He sighed, thinking I was going after Scott.

If Jackson was suspicious I had some sort of power, I had to keep myself on the down low anyways.

* * *

The rest of the school day dragged on and once that final bell rang, I was more than happy to sprint out and get into Stiles' Jeep. The ride home was quick and painless, the two of us kept quiet about Scott's event in the cafeteria. I think we were both a little freaked out. Stiles pulled into the driveway and the two of us got out of the car and trotted into the house.

"So I'm thinking we should get dinner before the game. Pre-celebration kind of thing, you know?" I suggested as we walked up the stairs, backpacks hanging from our shoulders.

"Do you want me to puke before I play? Ella this is my first game I can't mess up!"

"Jeez, sorry for the suggestion. Never thought you'd say no to food." I scoffed as we entered Stiles bedroom, prepping to do homework together. Stiles immediately hopped onto his laptop and began typing in his password.

"So what do you want to do first? Chemistry or Econ?" Stiles asked. I slid my backpack off my shoulder and turned around to throw it on the bed. A gasp escaped my lips, the backpack falling from my grasp and spilling out onto the floor. The man from the woods the other day was standing beside Stiles' closet.

"Whaatt—Derek?" Stiles turned in his seat. The pale skinned, darkly dressed man stared at me. His gaze felt like he could see right through me. Was this the Derek Scott and Stiles had been talking about?

"Uh, Ella, this is Derek Hale." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly introducing the two of us.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello beautiful readers! I'm back! I've been pretty horrible with my teen wolf stories lately. I mean extra extra horrible. I just started a Criminal Minds story and I've been working on that since I've stopped watching TW (at least this season. I'll probably catch up eventually. I just miss all the old characters). But please review and i pinky promise to be better at updating! I do have the second half of this chapter ready so if i get a few reviews i'll upload it! Hugs and kisses! - Elena**


	4. Meeting The Hales

I remained in my spot, shocked and frozen. Derek Hale continued to stare me down, his icy green eyes borrowing into me. We locked eyes, refusing to break the connection. It was like he could see through my soul, like he knew me or he knew something about me. I could have just been becoming paranoid, but I had my secret to blame on that. There was no doubt Derek was the most intimidating man I'd ever seen. His gaze made me want to disappear into thin air—even worse than Jackson's.

"Stiles? Ella? Is that you?" John called, his footsteps trudging up the stairs. The two of us broke our glare and I whipped my vision to the door. Derek motioned for Stiles to keep quiet and to go to the door before his father entered. Too intimidated not to, Stiles followed the silent orders. Derek and I stood in dead silence and he continued to stare me down. I uncomfortably shifted my weight, hoping he didn't know that I was the girl from the woods the other morning. There couldn't be a chance he'd remember, right? Derek's eyes scrolled over me once more, his thick brows narrowing together.

"What?" I barked.

"Ella?" John immediately realized I was in the room. My hand flew up and hit my face. I was an idiot.

"Hey, be right there." I called through gritted teeth. I rushed over to Stiles' desk and grabbed a book off of it, opening to a random page number. I immediately went over to the door and pushed it open, standing in the door way with the book pressed against my body. "Hey." I smiled. John looked at me suspiciously.

"What's doing?"

"The usual. All the same." Stiles stated. I looked at him, mentally wishing he'd shut up.

"Just prepping to do a lot of homework before the game." I informed. Stiles nodded beside me.

"Were you talking to someone?" John asked.

"Me? No…I talk to myself when I'm confused." I peaked at the book in my hands. "Periodic table isn't my forte."

"You're coming later, right?" He asked, changing the subject. John knew something was up between Stiles and I but he decided to shrug it off.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good! Can't believe I get to see my boy on the field tonight. It's going to be great." John beamed.

"Dad." Stiles groaned, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Stiles be nice." I flashed a fake smile, messily rubbing his buzz cut. "It's not like I'm the one you have to be impressing."

"Glad Stiles can learn a little something from you being here." John grinned.

"What can I say, I rub off on others." I beamed, quickly wishing to get out of this conversation. I wanted to know what the hell werewolf Derek Hale was doing in Stiles bedroom. "Well, I'm going to go finish getting all our books out so we don't run late. I'll see you at the game Uncle John." I bid my farewell, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek.

"Of course. Study hard, kiddo." Calmly, I slipped back into the room where Derek was pressed up in the back corner and, once again, he was staring. I silently threw my hands up, wondering what his problem was. His only response was the raise of one of his brows. I rolled my eyes and plopped myself on Stiles' bed. Just as I began thinking about how much I needed a nap before tonight, Stiles slipped back into the room as well. Immediately, Derek grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pushed him against the door. Stiles struggled under the strong mans grip.

"If I hear one word." Derek threatened.

"You mean like 'hey dad, Derek Hale's in my room. Bring your gun'?" Derek loosened his grip on Stiles. "Yeah that's right. If I'm harboring your fugitive ass, it's my house and my rules, buddy." Stiles lightly slapped Derek on the chest. Derek looked over to where Stiles had touched him and then back at Stiles, who failed to comment under his harsh gaze. Derek let Stiles go and fixed his jacket, Stiles doing the same to him. When he tried to walk away, Derek lurched towards Stiles who immediately flinched and yelped. "My God."

"Are you two done?" I crossed my arms over my chest. Stiles fell down into his desk chair and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"So, you're the famous Derek Hale." I rose a brow, staring at the ridiculously attractive man. I wanted to slap myself for thinking of the stranger like that, but I couldn't help it. I could see his abs through his shirt.

"And you're the girl who knows way too much." He responded, his face mimicking the features of stone. Did this guy not smile?

"Don't blame me." I shrugged, motioning my head over to Stiles.

"Whoa, hey, let's not play the blame game here. I think everyone has equal responsibility."

"Right." I scoffed.

"Did Scott get the necklace?" Derek changed the subject after dramatically rolling his eyes.

"No, he's working on it." Stiles informed. "But there's something else I want to try."

"I thought you said the necklace was the only way?" I misunderstood.

"Not what I mean. Remember I told you about how we were trapped at the school?"

"Alpha trapped you and you blamed it all on Mr. Brooding over here. Yup." Stiles grimaced as I brought up the sore subject. I smirked.

"Well, Allison got a text from Scott telling her to meet us at the school."

"So?" Derek finally piped up in hopes Stiles would soon get to the point.

"So it wasn't Scott." Stiles exclaimed.

"So, can you find out who sent it?"

"No, not me. But I know someone who can." Derek looked towards me.

"Don't look at me." I shook my head, throwing my hands up to surrender. When it came to being a tech genius, I knew nothing.

* * *

A terribly awkward thirty minutes later, Danny showed up in Stiles' room. Stiles had planned to ruse Danny into showing up to do lab work together since they were partners.

"You want me to do what?"

"Trace a text." Stiles awkwardly grinned.

"I came here to do lab work! That's what lab partners do!"

"And we will! Once you trace the text!" Stiles sighed.

"And what makes you think I know how?"

"He may or may not have looked up your arrest report." I butted in, flipping the page of my chemistry book in my lap as I sat Indian style on the bed. "I'm Ella by the way." I smirked, giving a quick wave.

"You're Stiles cousin, right?" I nodded. "Cool accent! Is that South African?"

"Australian."

"Sick." Danny smiled. "I didn't know you were from there."

"Gold Coast." I elaborated.

"That is SO cool. I've always wanted to go there. Were you originally from Beacon—"

"Okay, can we focus? Text tracing? The lab reporting?" Stiles interrupted.

"I was 13. They dropped the charges. So, no! We're doing lab work!" Stiles groaned as Danny pulled up a chair next to him.

"Who's he again?" Danny whispered, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at Derek. Stiles turned in his seat.

"Uh my cousin. My other cousin. Miguel." Derek and I both looked up from the books we were reading.

"Is that blood on his shirt?" Danny stammered. I looked over to Derek with wide eyes, seeing a spot of dark red on the center of his shirt.

"He gets these horrible nose bleeds. Super nasty, runs in the family!" I nodded.

"He's your brother."

"Uh, yeah. Can't you see the resemblance?" I asked. Danny looked between the black haired, pale skinned, green eyed man and me—the chocolate eyed brunette with beige skin.

"Uh, I guess." Danny squirmed in his seat.

"Hey Miguel, remember I told you that you could borrow one of my shirts? Stiles informed, pushing Derek to change the soiled shirt and he eyed the dresser. Angry, Derek closed the book he was pretending to read and stripped of his henely. My eyes gawked at the muscles that had been hidden underneath his shirt. It should have been illegal to hide those things. Above his beautifully chiseled back marked a tattoo of a triple spiral. I wonder what it meant. Derek began rummaging through Stiles' shirt drawer, tossing shirts onto the floor. I couldn't help myself, I couldn't stop staring. And once I saw Danny eyeing Derek's body, I lifted my book up in front of my face. Derek Hale was…damn.

He was fine.

Stiles began conversing with Danny while I peeked over the top of the book to watch Derek.

"Stiles," Derek spoke up, "This. No fit."

"Then try something else on." An incredibly annoyed Stiles replied. Derek threw on a blue and brown striped polo, and immediately, I was praying he'd take it off and stay shirtless.

"Why doesn't he have an accent?" Danny asked me through quick peaks at Derek.

"Oh, he—he just never caught on to it. Strange right?"

"I guess." Danny squirmed again.

"Hey! That one looks pretty good! What do you think Dan?" Stiles caught on to Danny's gawking.

"Huh?" Derek immediately started pouting.

"The shirt."

"Uh, it's, uh, not really his color." Danny stumbled over his words. Derek once more stripped of his shirt which caused me to lose all of my senses—but sight, of course.

"Stiles! None of these fit!" Derek barked. Danny stared once more before swallowing hard.

"I'll need the ISP, phone number, and the exact time of text." He sighed. Derek finally found a dark grey t-shirt and threw it on, much to my disappointment. Danny's fingers hovered over the laptops keyboard as he began typing while occasionally glancing at the phone Stiles held up for him. Derek walked over behind the boys as Danny furiously worked his magic.

"There. The text was sent from the computer. This one." Danny pointed to the screen. I shot up from my seat on the bed and walked over beside Derek, quickly reading over the small text on the screen.

"Registered to that account name?" Derek gaped.

"No, no, no. That can't be right." Stiles immediately disagreed. My eyes jumped down to the text bolded in red. The account had been registered with the Beacon Hills Hospital, to Melissa McCall. The Alpha was Scott's mom?

* * *

"Yeah, I got the picture. And it looks just like the drawing." Stiles replied as he spoke to Scott on the phone. Derek, Stiles, and I were sitting in the dark, empty hospital parking lot. We glared at the lit up building of the long term care wing in front of us. We all silently asked the same question: _did Melissa McCall really have the capability of being the alpha?_ Would she really bite her own son? There was no way. The world may have had some messed up people in it, but this situation was beyond that at this point—if it was really true. Derek quickly grabbed Stiles wrist and lurched the phone towards him.

"Hey, is there anything on the back of it? There's got to be something. An inscription, an opening…something!" I immediately grabbed the locket around my neck, thumbing the back where four waves were engraved. I looked in the rearview mirror, seeing it's purple gem sparkling. Stiles grabbed the phone after a disappointed Derek let go of his hand.

"I know. If you see my dad just, can you tell him, tell him I'll be there. I'll just be a little late. Okay? Alright thanks." Stiles hung up with a sigh.

"Stiles, you're know you're not going to make the game." I sadly announced.

"I know." He muttered.

"You didn't tell him about his mom, either." Derek realized.

"He doesn't need to know." I defended.

"Not till we find out the truth." Stiles huffed, chewing on his bottom lip.

"By the way, one more thing?" Derek said.

"Yeah?" Stiles listened. Derek grabbed the back of Stiles head and slammed it forward until it came in contact with the steering wheel.

"Oh God!" Stiles cried.

"Hey! What the hell!" I yelled, leaning forward and grabbing Derek's shoulder. He flinched as if he'd been shocked. His green eyes looked at me. "What was that for?"

"You know what that was for!" Derek pointed a finger at Stiles, who was putting pressure on his forehead. "Go." He ordered. Neither of us moved. "Goo!"

"Ugh. God." Stiles muttered, slipping out of the Jeep.

"God, Hale. You're going to break him one day." I spat, climbing out of the back seat. Stiles and I reluctantly entered the quiet hospital only to realize it was too quiet.

"I know it's a Friday night but, this place is dead." My eyes darted around. There was literally nobody around.

"Maybe everyone is at the game?" Stiles thought.

"The entire staff?" I cocked my head. Stiles phone rang and he quickly picked it up.

"What, Derek?" He answered with frustration. "No, we can't find her." I could hear Derek instruct Stiles to ask for Jennifer, that she was the woman taking care of his uncle. Derek had family here? We came up on a room down the hall with the name plate _"Peter Hale"._ The bed was freshly made and the wheelchair sat empty beside the door.

"Well, he's not here either."

"Where the hell did everyone go?" I wondered aloud. Derek shouted a loud "what".

"He's not here, he's gone Derek."

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I mumbled.

"Maybe because he's catatonic." Stiles scoffed back. Derek's uncle was catatonic? How could an unresponsive man just leave his wheelchair?

"Catatonic people can't just get up and leave." I huffed.

"Get out of there! Get out of there now! It's him! He's the alpha!" Derek shouted from the line. Stiles and I look at each other in fear. But, Stiles' eyes soon went past me. I turned on my heel and jumped back, seeing a man staring at us. A sadistic smirk lifted his lips. Half the mans face was covered in burns. The other was of a normal human. My best guess was to think this was Peter Hale.

"You must be Stiles." He smirked to the teen beside me, who suddenly dropped his phone. "And you," his eyes shifted to me, "you are the new girl. Isabella? Oh wait, that's right, you prefer Ella." A lump formed inside my throat. How did he know my name? Stiles and I turned around in a quick run. Our shoes skidded on the floor with a loud screech once we were stopped by a red headed nurse behind us.

"What are you doing here? Visiting hours are over." Her smile was just as sadistic as Peters. Peter took a step towards us, and I balled my fist up in preparations to blow my secret to save our lives. Stiles pointed from the nurse to Peter.

"You...and him? You're the one…and he's the…oh my God gonna die." Stiles realized.

"Stiles shut up and get out of here." I muttered, closing my fist tight and steadying my breathing. Peter stared down to my hand in wonder, his eyebrows lifting in confusion. Before Stiles or myself could move, Derek appeared and punched the nurse in the face, knocking her out cold. I flinched.

"That's not nice." Peter slowly chastised. "She's my nurse."

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people." Derek retorted. "Get out of the way." He simply instructed us. Stiles and I stood there, frozen. Could Derek really take on someone who was stronger than him? There was no way he could do that by himself.

"Ah, damn." Stiles muttered, pulling me aside. Peter began striding towards Derek, and I began internally fighting with myself about whether or not I should intervene. I could buy us enough time to get the hell out of the place.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose? One of my own family?" Peter questioned. Derek unhinged his jaw, letting out a loud roar. His green eyes transitioned into an electric blue while his canine teeth transformed into sharp fangs. I was taken aback, gasping and stumbling into Stiles. Though I was cool with knowing the werewolf knowledge, I hadn't seen what Scott or Derek looked like in their wolf form. I had a feeling I was about to find out. Derek lunged at Peter and the two began fighting. Stiles pulled me down so neither of us were collateral damage. He and I began crawling, my eyes wide and teary as I watched Derek's head go through the drywall. While Derek laid on the ground trying to recover himself, Peter strode over to him and began dragging him across the floor. I froze in the middle of the hallway, watching Derek struggle to pry his uncle's hands from his neck. I could hear him whimpering in pain.

"Come on!" Stiles cried, crawling forward to hide underneath the nurses' station.

"My mind, my personality, were literally burned out of me. I'm being driven by pure instinct." Peter stated.

I was about to regret everything; I could already feel my head screaming at myself to run away. I scurried up, standing on wobbly feet. Derek was finally let go and after punching Peter in the face, he was head butted and kicked across the room and onto him stomach. He laid face down, not getting up. Whether he was alive or not still was a mystery to me. I extended my arm out in a wiping motion, summoning a gust of wind to blow Peter down. Which, thankfully it did. Peter was tossed across the room. Derek finally lifted his head, spitting out a clump of blood, looking at me confused. I silently relieved myself once I realized he saw nothing, though he was confused how I got Peter that far.

"Strong arm." I immediately dismissed. Peter collected himself, re-standing up and adjusting his pea coat.

"Who told you to get involved?" Peter sighed, annoyance lacing his voice.

"Leave and I'll stop." I stated in the strongest voice I could muster. Peter began walking towards me. My throat felt tight as my skin grew hotter. I chomped down on the inside of my lip.

"You see, sweetheart. It's not that easy. None of this is quite easy, if you weren't aware. Welcome to the werewolf world." He smirked, only steps away from me now. My eyes bounced from Peter to Derek, who was still struggling to stand up from the floor.

"I know enough." I retorted, beginning to ball my hand and focus all my energy on Peter.

"I'm sure you do." Peter eyed my hand. Nervous, I immediately stopped. "Actually, I think you know a little more than you lead on." All I could do was shake my head. I was an idiot for thinking it would be this easy to use my powers in front of three people I wasn't close to. I was nervous, terrified. I couldn't do it with Derek staring right at me. I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. Peter was within breathing distance and I could feel my throat close up in fear. Behind Peter, I watched Derek finally stand up and go to sucker punch the back of Peter's head. Instead of succeeding, Peter spun around and grabbed Derek's fist, crushing the bones underneath his own grasps.

"You know, the healing process, stealing this from Laura, really pushed me over the plateau." He calmly informed his nephew before throwing him through a window into the triage area. My gasp was drowned out by the sound of glass shattering. Derek's body hit the ground with a loud thump, causing me to cringe. Peter turned back around and eyed me up and down. He grabbed my forearm and held up my hand, examining it.

"I think we've got some things to figure out, shall we?" Peter cocked his head and flashed a grin before pulling me towards where Derek had disappeared into. Stiles watched from behind the nurses' desk in horror, unaware of what to do.

"Let me go you sick freak." I tried yanking my wrists from the Alpha's grasps, but he was too strong for me. Peter dragged me into the triage station. Glass was everywhere, so were small drips of blood. I could see Derek's legs disappearing as he crawled into one of the back rooms.

"We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way." Peter announced, stopping in his place. He flicked his wrist before me and from his nail beds emerged long, sharp animal claws. My heart flew into my mouth. The claws were razor sharp and his regular, human nails were no where to be found. He grew the claws faster than I grew my tail. My heart raced and I weight all possible options I had. Derek was currently out of sight, leaving only Peter to figure out my secret if I did anything reckless. Though, he was the Alpha and there was no doubt he'd open his mouth to everyone he knew. And, if I didn't do anything, I was out of a life.

Either way, I was sufficiently screwed.

My vision focused on a water cooler a little way behind Peter. With my free hand I slowly began forming a fist. The water began to bubble and I prepared myself to make a break for it.

"No answer, huh?" Peter cocked his head.

"I'll choose the hard way." I slowly stated. With a loud bang, the water cooler exploded. Out of reaction, Peter let go of my wrist and I sprinted as fast as I could to the door. As I began shoving the door closed to the area, Peter's eyes looked to me in two different ways. The first: curiosity. He was fully aware the water cooler exploding wasn't just a coincidence. The second: rage. He no doubtedly wanted to kill me. Like, right now.

I slammed the door to the station shut and jutted out my palm straight and flat, freezing the door knob and lock together. Immediately, I ran back to the nurse's station and grabbed a trembling Stiles from the ground.

"We've got to go! Get up! We've got to go now!" I yelled, ushering him up from the ground and pulling him towards the care centers entrance.

"How did you get away from him?" He gasped for air.

"I don't know but we've gotta move. Hurry!" I ordered. Stiles eyed the door I had slammed shut, unfortunately noticing the puddle of water pooling from underneath the door and the glistening layer of ice on the doorknob as well. Without anymore questions or forcing, the two of us ran out and into the Jeep where the keys were thankfully still in the ignition.

"Oh my God, we're alive!" Stiles rejoiced once we were in the safety of the Jeep.

"Yeah and Derek might not be! Oh my God. I can't believe I just left him in there with the Alpha." I gasped between breaths.

"He can take care of himself. We're getting the hell away from this place." Stiles spat. Stiles threw the car into drive and peeled out of the parking lot. I ran my hands over my face.

"Stiles, I want to know everything and anything that has to do with Peter Hale and werewolves." Stiles nodded, understanding my demand.

"We need Scott first."

* * *

 **A/N: Please review! If I get enough reviews I'll be posting the next chapter, and here's a big hint towards it: Stiles is VERY suspicious of his cousin. He definitly knows something is up with her and he's gonna take it up with Scott.**

 **Do you guys think Peter and Derek know what Ella is? How do you think Ella's secrets going to get out?**


	5. Lies Catch Up

"Okay. Spill about everything." I demanded while sitting at the McCall kitchen table. Scott was wringing out a damp paper towel in the sink and swiping it across the back of his neck, wiping off drops of dried blood. Somehow, Peter got to Scott before we did and he managed to pay him a painful visit.

"I don't understand how you saw Peter's memories." Stiles mused. Apparently when Peter had sunk his nails into Scott's neck, he shared memories of a fire and killing people.

"We can figure out that later. I want to know everything. What is this fire? Why is he killing specific people? I'm so out of the loop it's painful." I exclaimed.

"It was people involved in the fire." Scott sighed, sitting down with his glass of icy water.

"What fire!" I cried, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"Six years ago The Hale House burned down. It was ruled as an electrical fire so nobody really gave it a second thought, but it was caused by hunters."

"They knew Derek's secret?"

"They knew his families secret. The entire family were wolves." Scott continued to explain.

"You can be born a wolf?" Maybe that meant some people could be born mermaids too. Maybe there were full born mermaids near Mako—there had to be a coincidence.

"Yup." Stiles popped the 'p', drumming his fingers against the table and looking everywhere but at me.

"Okay so they burned down the house and Peter got burned in the process. He's taking this revenge thing a little too far, don't you think?"

"That wasn't all." Scott shook his head somberly. My eyes became large while I froze for a moment, taking in the new found information.

"Other people were inside?"

"Try eight." Stiles alerted. My face grew pale.

"They, it—" I stuttered, "They killed Derek's family?"

"Besides Derek, Peter, and his sister Laura."

"Peter mentioned something about Laura to Derek while we were at the care facility. Something about stealing being an Alpha I think?" I questioned, shrugging my shoulders in confusion.

"Yeah, he stole it from her…by cutting her in half." Stiles stated. My jaw dropped. I wasn't sure if the words I heard were right or if Stiles was being over dramatic per usual.

"I'm sorry, say again?" I unslacken my jaw and attempted to grow composure.

"We found the body. Well, at least the top half." Scott sheepishly admitted. "He killed her to become the alpha."

"He killed the remainder of his family and just beat the last living relative half to death." I stated, hoping Scott or Stiles would correct me and say no. They both nodded. "Holy crap, he's psychotic."

"Nothing we didn't know." Stiles pursed his lips.

"How did you let me leave Derek in there?" y heart sunk into my stomch. "His uncle killed his only remaining family member and I left him to get beat up by him."

"Because Derek's just as crazy!" Stiles retorted.

"Well yeah, do you blame him?" I shot back.

"Stop feeling sorry for people who shouldn't be felt sorry for." Stiles barked.

"Guys stop fighting!" Scott yelled, slamming his hands down on the table. His water glass shook and began to tumble over. In one swift motion, I kicked my seat back and shot up from it, taking a step away from the table just as Scott grabbed the glass in time, only allowing a small bit of water to pool on the table.

"Sorry." Scott sighed, picking up an ice cub that had plopped out. Stiles suspiciously eyed me, his brows forming a tight line. I reluctantly sat back at the table, avoiding Stiles' suspicious gaze. Scott heavily sighed, running his hands over his face. "If I don't help Peter, he's going to kill my friends. What do I do? I can't avoid him forever! He'll start a blood bath!"

"You can't help him." I stated.

"He's got Derek. He doesn't need your help."

"Clearly he does." Scott groaned. "I'm so screwed."

"He knows you wont help him if he kills people."

"I don't know anything anymore." Scott sighed. "I need sleep."

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you this stre—"

"I'm sure." Scott interrupted. Stiles and I nodded, keeping our mouths shut. The two of us pushed out of our seats and stood up.

"Well see you later, Scott." I said, giving him a weak smile.

"Hey, Ella, I forgot something upstairs. I'll meet you in the Jeep, okay?" Stiles fumbled into his pocket for the car keys. I knitted my brows together in confusion. Neither of us had been upstairs the entire time we were here. I was tired and overthinking things.

"Okay." I shrugged it off, thinking maybe it was something Stiles had left here the other day. He handed me the keys and I grabbed them after hugging Scott goodbye.

"Call me if you need anything." I assured. He nodded his head and with that, I was out the door and finding comfort in the passenger seat of the car. Minutes later, Stiles silently hopped into the car and turned the ignition on. I looked in his lap and at his hands…he was holding nothing.

"What did you forget upstairs?" I curiously asked.

"Oh! I thought I forgot a book here the other day, but I couldn't find it."

"Maybe it's in my room? The kitchen?"

"Maybe." Stiles sucked on his bottom lip and pulled out of Scott's driveway.

* * *

 **Stiles:**

My foot furiously tapped as I eyed Ella walking out the door, closing it completely. It was stupid of me to say I left something upstairs, but it was the first thing to come to mind.

"What did you forget?" Scott asked, casually starting to walk to the stairs.

"Nothing. We need to talk." Scott took a step back, wondering why I had all the sudden gotten so somber.

"About what? And why couldn't Ella stay? It's not like she doesn't know anything." Man his wolf senses were off today.

"Because it's about Ella. There's—there's something up with her. There's something different about her." Scott studied me up and down.

"Did you take too much Adderall again?"

"No! No. I mean it. She's hiding something. And whatever it is has to do with water."

"I think you're overthinking things, dude. Didn't you say she was in a boating accident?"

"Yeah, so? A boating accident doesn't make you run away from the table when a drink spills."

"Maybe she got scared." Scott shrugged.

"No, no. It's not that. Scott, there's something up with her. Have you ever seen her wash her hands?" Scott shook his head, not thinking anything of the simplest act. "I've never seen her come out of the bathroom wet."

"She probably just blow dries her hair. Most girls do that, bro. It's a girl thing." Scott patted me on the back.

"This is different!" I exclaimed. "When I sprayed you guys with water and she got hit accidentally? She ran and locked herself in the bathroom. Every time I've ever seen her around water, she's been fidgety. Have you ever noticed something strange?" Scott shrugged reluctantly.

"I mean, maybe. Once in the locker room, but I never gave it a second thought."

"When we were in the hospital when Peter showed up—he took her into a room and she somehow got away. When we were running out I noticed water flooding from underneath the door and the door knob was icy."

"Icy?"

"Yes. As in ice. Frozen water."

"Okay, you're definitely on too much Adderall."

"Scott, I swear. The full moons? The water fear? The strange occurrences? Something's not

right." Scott sighed heavily before running a hand through his moppy hair.

"Well, she does smells different."

"She smells different?" I repeated, crying out. How could he have not mentioned this before!

"I wasn't even sure if I was going to tell you. It's hard to explain. She just smells a little different than you or Allison or Jackson."

"She's got to be a werewolf."

"No. I can feel that Derek's one. I can't feel that she's one."

"But she smells different!"

"It could mean nothing. I'm new at this, I still don't know. She's from a different country, maybe Australian's smell different!"

"But you agree there's something off."

"Yeah, no, maybe. I don't know!"

"We've got to figure this out, dude! And the answer is in water."

"You really think we should look into this?"

"Absolutely."

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Scott squirmed.

* * *

 **Ella:**

"Who are you getting a ride with?" Stiles asked as we both walked out of last period together. The hallways flooded with overly eager students dying to get home already. It was Thursday and I could feel the joy of the weekend hovering over me like a cloud of smoke.

"Allison." I shrugged casually. "She's bummed I ditched the game the other night." What I was telling Stiles wasn't exactly true…but it wasn't exactly a lie either. Allison was bummed I ditched the game the other night and I was getting a ride with her…tomorrow. Today, on the other hand, I was in the mood for a swim. It had been way to long since I used my tail for something other than in the bath. After a quick Google Maps search, I found out there was a canal that lead to Beacon Hills biggest lake not too far from the school. It was a mile and a half away and I was all for doing the trek if that meant I was in for some me time.

"Oh, okay." Stiles simply nodded. The whole day he had been off. It was hard to explain, but Stiles simply wasn't being Stiles. My cousin stopped short, bumping into a passing student, a bent down to the water fountain beside him, taking a quick, hefty drink. He stood back up, swallowing a few times and wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand.

"You want?" He asked, keeping the stream going. I shook my head.

"I'm good." The two of us continued on, exiting the school building and heading to the parking lot.

"Are you going to be home for dinner? Dads off tonight."

"I'll make sure of it." I smiled. Finally, we reached Stiles' Jeep and I eagerly rushed to send him off.

"I guess I'll see you at home. Have fun with Allison."

"Sounds good. See you later, Stiles." Stiles hopped in his car, his eyes glued on me. Thankfully, like all the planets were suddenly aligned my way, Allison came out of the blue and was trotting to her car.

"Hey, Allison!" I called loudly. "Wait up!" I rushed over to her just as she was struggling to get her keys out of her backpack. I jogged across the street just as Jackson was pulling out in his flashy Porsche—top down and all.

"Loser." He laughed.

"Lunatic." I retorted in a yell as he sped off. I rolled my eyes, shrugging off how much of an idiot Beacon Hills High's most attractive person was.

"Hey." She smiled, flashing her pearly white teeth.

"Hey. What are you doing?" I discreetly turned around to see Stiles still in his parking spot, no doubt watching me.

"About to go pick up a snack and go home, want to come?" She offered.

"I've got some plans, thank you though. We're still on for tomorrow, right?"

"Yup! Lydia's coming with us." Allison clearly noticed my grimace. "I promise I'll control her. Please, please, please just try and get to know her! If she does anything horrible you can call her out and never ever speak to me again." Allison pleaded, a smile playing on her lips.

"I'm taking you up on that." I pointed a finger at her. "Never ever." She laughed. In the distance, I could hear the Jeep's obnoxiously loud and rickety engine drive off.

"Deal. Lyd said she'd drive us after class tomorrow, just meet me at my locker when you get out."

"Perfect." I smiled.

"I'm starving and I've got Starbucks calling my name, I'll see you later El!" She hugged me goodbye and hurried off into her car, leaving myself to trot off towards where I had pin pointed that canal. Wait… _El_? We were on nickname basis' now?

* * *

Within a half hour, the canal had finally come into view. Mentally, I did a happy dance. That mile and a half felt more like ten. Though, the thought of a long swim had pushed me the entire time. Grass crunched under my sneakers as I quickly walked down the descending hill. Murky water lapped against the soil mixed silt. I turned my head around and scanned my surroundings. It was an all clear. And just like that, I quickly trudged through the icy cold water. Once it was deep enough, I threw my arms over my head and dove into the unknown.

I had been so used to diving into warm, Australian waters that anything different was a shock to my body. I didn't expect the water to be that cold, but it was stupid of me to think otherwise. Within ten seconds, I felt the familiar sensation take over my body and I soon was one with my tail again. I smiled wider than I should have. I'd been a mermaid for how long now? I shouldn't have been this excited to see my tail. Yet, I was. I took off out of the shallow water and headed for the real lakes. I was hoping they wouldn't all be this murky and, well, ugly. The bottom of the canal was layered with silt and rocks. A few stalks of algae cluttered the area, but other than that, the bottom was bare. In a few minutes I was in deep water, freely and happily swimming. The water was clearer and fish had finally come out of hiding, there was even a turtle here and there who were more than confused to see me. The bottom was rocky and sandy and filled with all different types of plants. I didn't think I'd enjoy swimming in something other than an ocean, and of course, it wasn't the same. But it was nice and it would suffice. It was better than I thought it would be. The feeling of my tail gliding myself through the water was one of the best feelings I'd know, and even in the lake, it continued to be. Minutes quickly passed, I swam up to the surface. I blinked the fresh water out of my eyes, viewing my surroundings. There were trees everywhere I turned. Half a mile in front of me there were rocks and grass and dirt pathway ways beyond that. Bingo. That was my way back to civilization. But for now, it was time to swim. Swirling my arms, I dove myself under the water once more.

* * *

Time had flown by and the sun had dipped below the ground as I walked into the house. I felt completely rejuvenated, almost like a new person. The smell of fried food wafted up my nose as I put my backpack down and shut the door behind me.

"Hey, I'm home." I called, suspicious of how quiet the house was.

"Hey, sweetheart." John enthusiastically called. I followed the sound of his voice, not the mention the smell of fast food, to see John sitting at the kitchen table. An empty bottle of Jack laid beside piles on piles of paper.

"Heyyyy," I dragged on, my eyes darting across the table. "Everything ok?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just trying to do some work." He said, popping a curly fry into his mouth.

"Sounds good, I'll be upstairs."

"Wait, hold on!" He stopped me. "Where were you? Why'd you get some—home so late?"

"I was just out with a friend."

"That's great! You made friends? Who's the lucky girl? Or guy. Or both. Who is it?"

"It's just Lydia." I awkwardly laughed.

"Lydia! You know Stiles has a huge crush on her?"

"I think the entire city knows."

"What a wonderful girl."

"Yeah. Well anyways, I've got homework to do. I'll see you later."

"Alright, kiddo." I backed up, finally turning around and awkwardly leaving John to his tipsy self. While trudging up the stairs, I met Stiles' harsh gaze.

"You know daddio is drunk, right?"

"I'm the one who gave it to him." He somberly stated, staring at me the entire time. I squeezed past Stiles while he stood still as a statue on the middle of the stairs and I continued up.

"Why's that?"

"To get some information about the case, no thanks to you." I turned around to glare at Stiles, my brows knitted together.

"Whoa, what was in your dinner tonight? Sorry I had plans." I scoffed, walking towards my room. Stiles audibly sighed and followed me into the hallway, grabbing his drink off the console table.

"Where the hell were you?" He asked, anger evident in his voice. _Shit_ , who did I tell him I was with?

"I told you I was with Allison and Lydia. I didn't realize it got so late, I lost track of—"

"Scott saw Lydia in the woods with Allison, so I repeat, where were you?" It was dumb of me to tell him I had been with Allison, Scott would have been keeping tabs on her.

"I—" The excuses lined up in my mind stumbled together and formed a block in my throat, causing me to pause. "I had to do errands first I met up with Lydia after. Allison had to bail."

"And while you were, 'with Lydia'," He put air quotes around his words, "you couldn't bother to answer your phone?"

"I didn't get any…calls." My statement ended quietly as I yanked my phone out of my bag to see a ridiculous amount of missed calls and unread text messages from both Scott and Stiles.

"Peter took Scott's mom tonight. He needed all the help he could get and you just disappeared into thin air."

"Oh my God. Is she okay? What happened? Did he hurt her?"

"Why would you care?"

"Why would I care? Seriously?" I barked back.

"Where were you?" Stiles demanded to know, his fingers gripping the plastic cup until his knuckles turned white. I swallowed a sharp lump lodged in my throat as I had a feeling Stiles was about to throw his drink at me—whether it was out of pure anger or suspicion was out of my knowledge.

"I told you I was with Lydia. If you can't trust me then fine, don't. I don't need to explain myself to you." I shook my head in disappointment and backed up into my room, not taking my eye off Stiles or his drink. Once more, Stiles sighed, this time in defeat.

"Ella, wait." He pursued forward.

"Goodnight." I pursed my lips and nodded, shutting the door in his face. I heavily sighed, the feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest suffocating my lungs.

This secret was getting harder and harder to keep.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! So have any of you seen Mako Mermaids? I just finished season 3 / 4 and its so bomb. I like it just as much as h2o I think. If you do watch MM then u def caught the little hint I played to natural born mermaids in the beginning of the chapter. Also, im thinking about incorporating some of the MM powers into this story but I want opinions. Also want ur opinions/thoughts on how Derek will find out about Ella! I have my idea of when he will but its not for a while, and the first episode of season 2 includes a full moon and Ella will DEF be effected. Reviews and thoughts plz!**


	6. It's About Water

_My head broke the surface of the lake and I took in a breath of cold winter air. I hadn't realized how long my swim had lasted, but it felt like an eternity. I barely remembered I had to come up for air at some point. The sky was a shade of a white gray; heavy clouds were blocking the sun from appearing. In the distance, a rumble of thunder rolled and echoed through the trees. That was my signal to go home. I slowly swam to shallow water, my tail brushing against the dirty sand as I reached the beginning of the bank. The farther my torso removed itself out of the water, the more a violently sick feeling grew in my stomach._

 _"Monster." A familiar voice resonated. My eyes reluctantly peered up to see Stiles standing in front of me. My jaw dropped, stumbling to ask the question what he was doing here. I blinked drops of water out of my eyes and when they reopened, Scott stood beside my cousin. The two of them failed to look at me in amazement, but instead disgust._

 _"She's a sea monster."_

 _"Please let me explain." I begged with my voice dripping in sorrow. I blinked once more, and then stared at two more figures standing beside my friends. This time it was Allison and Lydia, their beautiful facial features contorted into repulsion. Lydia was the first to take her phone out and snap a picture._

 _"This is going to get a ton of likes." She maliciously grinned. I turned around to look at my tail, hoping it was hidden under water. It was barely submurged by the murky liquid. The tail was obvious. I turned back around with teary eyes, seeing that Jackson, Derek, Peter, Danny, and Melissa McCall had joined the group of shocked onlookers. Melissa gasped, holding onto her angry son for comfort. Jackson gave a hearty laughed and Danny soon joined him._

 _"Secrets are no fun, are they dear?" Peter chuckled. I looked between him and Derek, who looked angrier than usual._

 _"We've got to tell my dad." Allison announced._

 _"Your dad's a werewolf hunter." Lydia corrected. How did she know about that?_

 _"She's supernatural it doesn't matter." She concluded._

 _"No, please don't." I whimpered. Allison whipped out her phone and dialed her father._

 _"Dad, I just sent you a picture. She's a mermaid. We're going to be rich." She stated._

 _"Scott? Derek? Please help! You guys understand this more than anyone. Please."_

 _"You're on your own." Derek grimly stated._

 _"Goodbye, Ella." Scott replied. I looked at the angry and disgusted crowd, seeing there was no backing down. As they inched closer to me, a blood curling scream erupted from my lungs._

I launched up in bed, gasping for air and putting a hand over my heart. I looked at my surroundings. It was just an empty bedroom. There was no lake, no tail, no angry mob. There was nothing. It was just my bedroom.

* * *

I laid awake in my bed, the house too cold from letting me get up and get ready for school. I had never been a cold person. Snow and cold temperatures failed to entice me. Sure, I could have just heated my body up a little with my powers, but that took effort. And in the mornings, there was none of that. A knock at my door startled me from my Australian warmth day dream.

"What?" I called loudly with a sigh. If its one thing I hated, it was being disturbed in the mornings. The knob turned and the door opened enough for Stiles to peak his head through.

"Hey." He greeted with a weak smile. I failed to return it.

"What do you need?" I immediately asked, getting straight to the point. After Stiles' episode with me last night, I wasn't in a talking mood to say the least. I needed to put space between us until he became less suspicious. He fully pushed the door open.

"I, uh, have you heard from Scott this morning?" I reached over onto my night stand, tapping my phone's screen and seeing the lack of messages I had. I returned to my comfortable position, irritated I had to leave it in the first place.

"Nope, not today."

"Right…" he sighed. "well, I want to stop by his place before school, so if we could leave a little earlier than usual that'd be great." Stiles awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"On it." I simply replied

"Great." Stiles unenthusiastically replied as he began to walk away.

"Uh, Stiles." I stopped him.

"Yeah?" He immediately piped up and turned around on his heel, hoping I'd say more. I eyed him and then the opened door. "Oh, right. Right." He sighed, closing the door once more. I laid in my bed, nestled under my comforter staring at the ceiling. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and mocked Stiles' contagious sighs.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

After a car ride filled with small talk about the weather, we arrived at Scott's much to my relief. Stiles was furiously knocking on the front door until a disheveled looking Scott answered it.

"Dude, why aren't you answering your phone?"

"He means, are you okay?" I corrected, seeing the worry in his chocolate brown orbs.

"You wont believe what happened last night." He gasped. Stiles and I both looked to the teen wolf suspiciously. He dragged us inside and shut the door behind him.

"The hunters attacked us last night. They took Derek!" Scott exclaimed in the midst of rushing up to his room. The volume in Scott's voice assured me Melissa wasn't home.

"Whoa, slow down there. Start from the beginning." I ordered, following close behind. It was too early to chase after him. I needed coffee more than I needed oxygen right now.

"Derek was going to turn Jackson last night and I intervened. And we got in a huge fight."

"And the hunters found you?" Stiles gaped. Stiles pulled over Scott's desk chair and took a seat while I opted for the bed.

"They were shooting at us from outside the Hale house. I got shot, but Derek…Derek saved me. He went out there and distracted them while I got away."

"You got shot?" I gasped. Scott stood in front of his full length mirror and lifted the hem of his shirt up. A bandage sat taped in the side of his stomach, the center of the crisp white fabric stained with red. Scott proceeded to peel off his bandage, revealing intact skin, as if he came out of being shot at unscathed.

"I'll never get over this whole healing thing." I muttered my thoughts aloud.

"Deaton saved me. He fixed me up somehow. It was a wolfsbane laced bullet so it was bad, guys." Scott tossed the bandage into the garbage.

"Deaton as in your boss?" Stiles repeated. Scott nodded.

"I can't find my phone anywhere, I don't understand! I had it last night!" He groaned in audible frustration while rummaging through piles of clothes.

"Maybe if you cleaned your room…" Stiles suggested, only to get glared at by Scott.

"Can you just call it?" Stiles dramatically rolled his eyes and followed Scott's orders. We failed to hear ringing.

"Call it again." Scott demanded.

"It's not here." Stiles states. Scott scurried up and began looking on the other side of the room and underneath the bed. "So you lost yours phone, why don't you just get a new one?"

"I cant afford a new one!" He cried. I hopped off the bed and got down on my knees, peering under the bed to see lacrosse gear cluttering the floor. "And I cant do this alone, we need to find Derek."

"A, you're not alone." Stiles frowned. I grimaced, taking one last look under the bed and standing up. "You have me! And B, didn't you say Derek walked into gun fire? He sounds pretty dead."

"Argents plan was to use him to get to the Alpha. They're not going to kill him." Scott informed from inside his closet.

"You know that for sure?" I wondered.

"Well, it, ,I—just let them do what they're planning! They use Derek to get Peter, problem solved." Stiles stammered.

"Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek!" Scott cried, emerging from his closet. "I cant protect her on my own, which means we've got to find Derek first. Just help me!" He sighed in defeat after searching the contents of his desk.

"You probably lost it while you two were fighting." Stiles dryly stated after Scott had tossed an orange stress ball in the air, and it had hit Stiles' face. "Remember that? When he was trying to kill you? After you interrupted him trying to kill Jackson? Are you starting to see a pattern of violent behavior here?"

"He said he was trying to kill Jackson." I defended.

"He wasn't going to kill anyone, and I'm not letting him die." Scott forcefully stated.

"Can you just think about letting him die?" Stiles pleaded with a frown.

"Stiles." I barked. He clearly was not seeing the seriousness of the situation.

"What?" He exclaimed. Suddenly, Scott's head lurched to the side and his body stiffened. "What?" Stiles repeated.

"My mom just got home from work." He announced, correcting his hearing to listen in. Scott's body deflated, like he had just got punched in the chest.

"Is she ok?" I spoke up with reluctance in my voice. Scott silently shook his head.

"What's she doing?"

"Crying." It took Scott a second to sadly admit it. Without a word, Scott pushed himself off the desk and sat beside me on his bed. His hands wrapped around each other, taking in the sobs of his mother. I could feel the sadness radiating off of him and onto me, and I felt horrible there was nothing I could do.

"Scott," Stiles gently nudged, "you cant protect everyone."

"I have to." He shamefully admitted. "She thinks her date from last night wont call her back just because he doesn't like her. She doesn't know who he really is."

"You can't tell her." I immediately said, thinking of the array of reactions that would come with spilling his secret. I think about mine all the time.

"I know, but it's getting harder and harder to protect her."

* * *

The school day came and went and I soon found myself in the backseat of Allison's car with her, and Lydia riding passenger. Allison had just finished telling us that out of the blue, and in the strangest way possible, Jackson wanted to take her to the winter formal tomorrow night, but just as friends. It was more than obvious Lydia was trying to contain herself from saying something she'd regret, but hearing that her ex boyfriend asked her best friend out made her blood boil.

"So, Ella, tell me. What's Australia like?" Lydia finally moved on from the conversation when we pulled into the Macy's parking garage.

"Uh, pretty awesome." I laughed. Getting asked the question was like asking Lydia what Beacon Hill's was like.

"I'm talking about details! The beaches, the boys…"

"It's physically impossible to sum up life there. Boys were cute, and the beaches…they were to die for. And the water, it's like nothing you've ever seen before." The three of us exited the blue Mazda and walked into the first floor of the store.

"We'll have to take a trip to San Fran one day! Or maybe even San Diego for a weekend. Like a girl-cation." Lydia mused.

"Girl-cation?" Allison chuckled.

"That sounds cool." I agreed, knowing it would never happen.

"We've also got a lake house right outside the city. It's got a boat and everything. We can spend the weekend!" She squealed. Now that sounded more realistic.

"Too cold." I shrugged off.

"Get a few drinks in you and the waters just fine." She winked. Just as we stepped onto the escalator, Lydia noticed Allison's lack of involvement in the conversation. The brunette looked deep in thought, worry lines creased across her forehead.

"What's wrong?" She pouted.

"Nothings wrong," Allison sighed, "I just, ive got a lot on my mind."

"You could smile at least. Have you ever heard the saying 'never frown, somebody could be falling in love with your smile'? Smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress."

"I have to admit, as far as apologies go, that's more than I expected."

"Excellent."

"But…it's not as much as I'm going to ask."

"What?" Lydia paled considerably.

"You're going to cancel on whatever dumb, roided up jock you said yes to, and you're going to go with somebody else."

"Who?" Lydia and I asked simultaneously. Allison smirked, staring ahead at the perfume department where Stiles stood.

"Him." She smirked. Once again, Lydia grew so pale it looked as if she saw a ghost while she watched Stiles go into a coughing fit after accidentally spraying perfume in his face.

"Aww, don't frown Lydia! Someone could be falling in love with your smile!" Allison mocked, trotting off towards Stiles. Finally noticing us, Stiles waved. Lydia whimpered and stood in her place.

"He's my cousin, don't disappoint me." I warned with a smile, then following Allison's trail.

"Did she say yes?" Stiles eagerly asked my brunette friend.

"She doesn't have a choice." She assured with a grin.

"Yes!" Stiles cheered. "One step closer!"

"Let's go to dresses, chop chop!" Lydia scampered past us and grabbing Allison by the arm. Stiles and I followed behind and he continued to voice how excited he was.

"What did you do to get Jackson to go with Allison?" I finally asked. "And why wasn't I in on this?" To say the least, I was disappointed the boys failed to include me in on conversation.

"Scott's not allowed to go to the dance now, so we had to figure something out."

"Okay." I sighed. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"We haven't figured that out yet. It's more of an in progress stage right now."

"Great." I sarcastically commented. "Will I at least be filled in this time?"

"You got it." Stiles grinned widely, throwing up his thumbs. My eyes narrowed and my brows formed a line.

"You're acting weirder than usual, dial it down."

"Right, sure, yes—"

"Stiles, help me!" Lydia demanded as she hung several dresses by her fingers.

"Coming!" Whiles Stiles was off being Lydia's human clothing rack, Allison and I shifted through an assortment of dresses.

"So," I dragged on, "Should I ask why Lydia's buying you a dress as an apology gift?"

"It's am 'I'm sorry I made out with your boyfriend when he wasn't really your boyfriend' present."'

"Ouch." I grimaced. "Harsh."

"Hence the dress buying." She chuckled. I plucked a strapless little black dress from the rack and examined it. "You should get that!"

"Me? No." I disagreed.

"Why not? You'd look great in it. It really goes with your figure."

"Well, I don't have anywhere to wear it. I wasn't going tomorrow." I admitted, which was soon followed by a nearby gasp.

"Not going? What is this nonsense. No friend of mine is not going. You're going."

"I've never been to a dance and besides, I don't really have the money." I shrugged, hoping my excuse would cut it. Lydia wouldn't take it.

"That's it? Put it on my card! Daddy's paying." She beamed. "You have to experience your first school dance with me. So are you going to go, or am I going to have to drag you?" For such a small person, Lydia was ridiculously powerful.

"I'm not going to say no to free clothes, count me in!" I laughed. Lydia clapped her hands together.

"Fantastic." She finally grabbed one last dress, threw it at Stiles, and disappeared off into the dressing room. "Ella! Try that on!" She demanded from afar.

"Okay! Okay!" I cried, rushing after her once I told Allison I'd be right back. I soon found myself in a dressing room beside Lydia's. While she was making comments I wasn't in the mood to listen to, I stripped my clothes to the floor and slid on the dress. I groaned in frustration as I straighten out the unruly layers of material that fluffed out the bottom of the dress.

"Did you say something?" Lydia paused from her fashion lecture.

"No, no." I quickly replied.

"How's it fit?"

"Perfect." I stared at myself in the mirror, twirling around.

"Great. Bring it to the register and tell them it's under my name." She instructed as she slid on another dress. I clothed myself once more after stripping of the formal dress and threw it back on the hanger. I opened the dressing room door and my eyes landed on Stiles, who was struggling to hold the dozens of dresses Lydia picked out.

"Good luck." I smirked. After exciting the dressing room, I stopped short in my place. Allison was talking to none other than Peter Hale. Every muscle in my body tensed and I could feel my blood begin to boil. I threatened to burst Peter into flames with the flick of my hand. My hand squeezed tight into a fist as I walked over to Allison while a message blared over the speaker system. I failed to listen to what the woman was announcing. Instead, I glared daggers at Peter. He smirked in reply.

"Oh my God, that's my car." She whispered. "I got to go, they're towing my car!" She began to rush forward.

"I'll come with you." I stated, still staring at Peter. I followed after Allison, grabbing her arm to keep her close.

"Haven't your parents ever told you to not talk to strangers?" I barked. I turned around one last time to see Peter waving his fingers at me, that nauseating smile still plastered on his face.

* * *

The sun shone brightly through the window when I awoke that Saturday morning feeling little than rested. My eyes opened and closed in attempt to blink the sleep haze away. Though last night was filled with a dreamless sleep, I found myself wanting to stay in bed for the rest of the day. I laid on my back staring at the ceiling, ever so often eyeing the plastic covered dress hung on my door. Tonight's plans were swirling around my mind. I'd never been to a school dance solely because it was too much of a risk. There was punch, there was water, there was carelessly dancing students…the fear of getting bumped and spilled on overwhelmed me. But the realistic chance of me getting spilled on was low. Did people even drink at these dances? They probably had drinks of their own before hand and left the punch tables untouched. I had to go to have a good time and to help Scott—if he even wanted my help at this point. I hadn't heard of a plan or anything, so I guess I was out of the loop for whatever reason. Either way, I needed to go tonight. Was I making a huge mistake? I needed to relax.

And the perfect remedy to relaxation was a nice, long swim.

I hopped out of bed and rid of my pajamas, throwing on a pair of jean shorts. Just as I zipped up the blue velour track jacket Lydia had let me borrow, my head snapped around at the sound of my phone buzzing.

"Ugh, what Lydia." I groaned while walking over to my night stand. I wasn't due to come over her house for 7 more hours, what could she possibly want? I opened the message to see it was from Scott, off the old crappy phone Stiles had let him borrow, and to come over his place so we could discuss tonight.

"Oh, now you want my help," I muttered under my breath as I typed back a quick 'ok'. After quickly slipping on some sneakers, I walked into the hallway, finding the house unusually quiet.

"Stiles, you up?" I called, padding to his room and opening the door to find it empty. My hand vibrated as my phone received another message.

"Stiles is here, by the way." I read aloud. I sighed, my lips pursing into a tight line. "Of course he is." Now I'd have to walk. Not that I wasn't planning to before hand when I was going for a swim, but I wasn't in the mood to walk to Scott's. I closed the door to Stiles' bedroom and took myself downstairs and outside, immediately shivering as a wall of cool air hit my bare legs. I silently groaned. I'll never get used to this weather.

* * *

What felt like forever later, I walked up Scott's driveway with my hands stuffed in my pocket. My legs were officially frozen icicles, and heating myself up hardly helped. Stiles' Jeep sat in the driveway while Melissa's car was no where in sight. I figured she was at work, per what seemed like usual. Without knocking, I opened the door and relaxed once I stepped in and out of the cold.

"Hey." I shouted, wondering where the two boys were at.

"Up here." Scott called. I trudged up the stairs, silently cursing them after that walk, and entered Scott's room to see the two pacing.

"Hey." I greeted Scott. "Why'd you leave without me?" I frowned, turning to Stiles.

"Scott and I had to talk." Stiles quietly stated, refusing to make eye contact. Behind me, Scott went to close the door.

"You could have woken me up." I scoffed, my brows knitting together at Stiles strange behavior.

"Yeah…" Stiles sighed. I walked past him and yanked my phone out of my jacket pocket and placed it on Scott's night table beside Stiles'.

"Listen, Ella, we need to talk." Stiles announced. I turned around with furrowed brows and a confused look plastered on my face.

"About what?" I sincerely questioned. Did something happen?

"What's going on with you." Scott said.

"What's going on with _me_? Did something happen I don't know about?"

"We know you you have a secret." Stiles forcefully stated. My heart skipped a beat and sank into my stomach. I could feel myself break into a sweat and a lump form in my throat. I contorted my confused poker face to seriously look at Scott.

"Did he have too much of that crazy medicine?" I asked.

"No, actually." He replied with a sigh.

"You're avoiding this, Ella. We know you you have a secret, and we know it has something to do with water." How did Stiles figure this out? I'd been so careful, I tried so hard.

"I told you why I have a fear of water." I strongly stated.

"You're lying." He disagreed.

"Just tell us, Ella." Scott begged.

"You two seriously think I'm hiding something from you?" I sarcastically laughed.

"Yes." Stiles stated.

"Your heart is racing, Ella. You're lying." Scott frowned.

"I'm not lying you two are just making me nervous!" I cried.

"You're hiding something from us. And it's about water." Stiles shook his head disapprovingly. Scott did the same.

"I can't believe you two. You both are being ridiculous and you're imagining things that aren't there. This whole alpha thing is going to your heads. I can't believe this."

"Stiles." Scott sighed, sympathetically looking to my cousin.

"You're right." Stiles sighed.

"That's what I thought." I muttered.

"But we have to make sure." Before I could react, Stiles whipped around and grabbed a water bottle sitting on Scott's desk. He jerked it forward, drenching me in the cool liquid. I gasped, feeling the water seep through my jacket and down my skin.

 _They set me up._

There was no talking about the plan for tonight, Scott and Stiles had invited me here to set me up for the inevitable.

"Are you serious?" I shrieked while frantically looking around for an exit strategy. Scott was blocking my only way out. Panic quickly bubbled inside me. Spotting a shirt crinkled up on Scott's bed, I quickly grabbed it and began scrubbing myself dry.

"Sorry Ella." Scott frowned, that same sympathetic look glued on his stupid face. My time was up, and my wet jacket was clinging to my skin. I threw down the dirty shirt and my arms fell to my sides.

"Ugh." I loudly groaned, feeling the familiar tingling sensation creep up my legs. Bubbles surrounded my body as it turned into water for a split second. I soon found myself falling forward, my tail flopping against the hard ground. I propped myself up, my chin rested on the heel of my hand, and I blew a piece of hair out of my face.

"Happy?" I huffed, hiding how truly furious I was with the two teens. They looked to me in utter shock. Their eyes were the size of tennis balls and they looked as if they just saw a ghost. The two screamed in unison.

"Shut up!" I barked. This was just as worse as I imagined. "The whole neighborhoods going to here you."

"That's not what I thought would happen…" Stiles stated, wide eyed and breathing heavy.

"What, did you think I'd melt?" I spat.

"Kinda!" He retorted.

"You're a mermaid?"

"She's a fish!" Stiles cried. "Holy—I'm so confused!"

"We've already established that _none_ of us are normal here, can we please move on!" I yelled. Through our yelling, we barely heard the front door open.

"Scott! I'm home early!" Melissa called from downstairs. I desperately looked between my two obnoxious friends, anxious Melissa would find me.

"Uh, yeah! Just a minute mom!" Scott frantically looked to my tail.

"What do we do? Get rid of it!" He whispered.

"I don't want to touch it!" Stiles argued.

"God I hate both of you!" I shouted under my breath. I reached back and balled my fists over my body. Steam rose from my tail and clouded the room.

"What are you doing? What is she doing? Stop that!" Stiles urged. I rolled my eyes before feeling my tail tingle and finally have my legs replace it.

"What in the…" A pregnant pause took over the room until Stiles interrupted it.

"What the hell is going on?" Just then, a light knock came from the door Scott was guarding.

"Hey Scott?" Melissa curiously called. Scott quickly opened the door to see his mothers smile.

"Hey mom, I thought you weren't getting back for another hour." Melissa hovered in the doorway.

"Slow end of shift, they let me go. You guys excited for tonight?" She eagerly asked.

"Very." I answered the same times Stiles answered back "yes". Melissa eyed the three of us, still seeing Stiles frazzled expression.

"Everything okay in here?"

"Yeah we're just talking about a group project, mom." Scott shrugged off.

"Okay, well I'll leave you three to it." She nodded, before crinkling her nose. "Scott, crack a window in here, it's ridiculously humid." She fanned herself with her hand.

"Okay, okay. Sounds good." He rushed.

"Have a good time. Nice seeing you again Ella!" Melissa called while she walked down the hallway. Scott quickly reclosed the door and I soon found two pairs of eyes staring at me.

"Surprise?" I wearily smiled, my uncomfortable fake 'ha-ha' laugh filling the awkward, tense silence. There was no way they'd pretend like that never happened.

* * *

 **A/N: THE SECRET IS OUTTTTT. To Scott and Stiles at least. Now when oh when will Derek find out? And Allison? I was reluctant posting this chapter so soon since i didnt get the amount of reviews i wanted, but hell with it. i got too excited. Now next chapter? Saving Derek and Ella will have a part in taking down Peter. Reviews and comments please!AS FOR THE QUESTION OF WHO ELLA'S FACE CLAIM IS: Originally I was thinking Nixie from Mako Mermaids mixed with zoey deutch but now I chose Marie Avgeropoulos who plays Octavia in the 100. Her as a mermaid is now the story cover :] Much love xx**


	7. Formal

Scott and Stiles had dragged me from the house, taking me directly to the woods once they were aware I had powers. They were still freaking out, just a little less. I walked a few paces ahead of them while their eyes glared daggers into my back. They hadn't let me out of their line of sight.

"You know, this feels more like an execution sentencing than explaining myself." I turned around and rose a brow.

"Ella, just walk." Stiles sighed. I slowly walked backwards.

"Are you two going to kill me?" I smirked. "Because if you are, get it done quick. I've got to be at Lydia's in a few hours." Scott just stared at me, anger in his big, chocolate orbs.

"Keep going." He demanded. I dramatically rolled my eyes and continued on in silence. It took a couple more minutes, but we finally reached the small river that had divided this half of the woods up.

"Start explaining." Scott demanded. Instead, I looked down to the flowing water that ran past the ground I was standing above. With my palm up and my fingers nimble, I began lifting my arm up.

"What are you—" Stiles cut himself off. "—Ella!" I put my arm back down.

"Stiles, give me a second." I barked. A silence fell over the three of us as I took a deep breath and repeated my actions. The boys watched in utter shock as a thick stream of water rose from the river.

"Water manipulation." I mused as I contorted the water. Stiles became fascinated with the floating stream. Putting the water back down into the river, I pushed my hand forward, freezing over the river. "Freezing."

"I was right!" Stiles cried.

"And as you saw before," I balled my hand into a fist and began boiling the river water. It bubbled and steamed, causing the boys to step back. "Heating." I made a cutting motion with my hand and the water went back to normal.

"That's it?" Stiles sarcastically scoffed.

"Well, there's also atmokinesis, but I'm still getting used to that. I figured you didn't want to see that." I added.

"What's that?" Stiles wondered.

"Controlling the weather." I grinned. "Rain, wind, snow, lightning…"

"Yeah, we'll pass." Stiles took a step behind Scott, who was now his human protective barrier.

"What about the full moon?" Scott asked. "Stiles said you went missing during it."

"They affect me just like they affect you. Minus the hair and claws. But I can become dangerous."

"With all the…" Stiles trailed off while moving his hands around attempting to mock me.

"Yes." I flatly answered.

"I can't believe you hid this from us." Scott stated, his voice full of disappointment.

"I couldn't have anyone else know. Too many people know already. I almost got dissected a few months ago."

"Of all people you should know I understand that the most! I trusted you."

"I'm sorry, Scott."

"Don't." Scott sneered.

"Scott, I know you're upset but we have time to do that later. We need all the help we can get against Peter, supernatural or not." Stiles reasoned.

"I don't need her help." Scott disagreed before taking off.

"Scott." I called, preparing myself to go after him. Stiles stopped me, encouraging me to just let him go.

* * *

Lydia had greeted Allison and I with snacks and sodas when we arrived to her Buckingham Palace of a house. For a while, we sat around gossiping and watching TV. When Lydia decided it was getting late, her and Allison headed up stairs to start getting ready while I waited for the pizza Allison had ordered. I had been off since Scott's episode in the woods. Maybe I hadn't thought out my plans well enough. I should have told Scott my secret when I found out about his. I should have…but I didn't. And now, I was paying for it. If I put myself in his place, I would have felt the same way. I couldn't understand why I didn't think of this any sooner. All I knew was that I'd have to help Scott tonight no matter what, even if he didn't want my help.

"Ella, get the door!" Lydia had yelled from her room. Through my heavy thoughts, I hadn't heard the doorbell ring. I padded over to the door, paying the pizza delivery man and walking upstairs to rid myself of thoughts and keep myself included. I opened the pizza box, heaving in the savory smell, and taking a slice for myself.

"How's it goin'?" I asked through a mouthful of cheese.

"What are you doing! Don't eat that! You'll bloat and the dress wont zip." Lydia cried, taking the pizza box from my left hand and the slice from my right. I looked at her and then Allison, and finished chewing.

"I think I'll survive." I rolled my eyes.

"Pizza is salty. Salt is bloating." She stated, placing the box on her dresser and going back to doing her makeup. I walked back over to the dresser, ignoring Lydia's former warnings, and grabbed my slice once again.

"Are you excited for your date, Lyd?" Allison asked.

"Stiles is." I added with a smirk, taking another bite. Lydia looked to Allison and I and stayed silent.

"That excited." I mocked to Allison, who chuckled and came over to grab a piece of pizza.

"Are you doing something with your hair or are you keeping it like that?" Lydia wondered, capping her designer mascara and changing the subject.

"Flat iron it." I shrugged.

"This is a dance. Not a beach party." She rolled her eyes. "Sit. Now." She ordered, holding up the curling iron.

It was almost seven when Lydia had finally finished my hair. As she finished waving the last piece, I stared into her mirror looking at myself, wondering if I should really show my face at this dance. Scott would be there and I didn't want it to be uncomfortable, even from afar.

"Honey, can you at least pretend to like it?" She sighed. I shook myself out of my Scott induced thoughts, looking up to her in the reflection.

"I do." I disagreed. "Trust me, if I did it I'd look like I got electrocuted."

"Then smile." She instructed with one of her own. I flashed her a fake grin. "What's your deal?"

"Nothing." I quickly shook off. Lydia, not believing a word, continued to glare at me. "Scott and I just got into a fight. I'm annoyed, that's all." Allison, hearing the name of her ex boyfriend floating around, peaked out of Lydia's mall size closet to listen in.

"Are you dating or something?" Lydia questioned.

"Ew, no." I disagreed.

"Then why does he care?"

"Because it was something I should have told him. I just was looking out for myself."

"I'm sure he'll get over it. Is he coming tonight…do you know?" Allison walked out of the closet donning her stunning silver dress. She looked as gorgeous as ever. I looked down to myself, dressed in leggings and a tank. I needed to hurry up if I needed to get to this dance.

* * *

The goose bumps on my bare skin prickled. My short, strapless dress failed to protect me from the unbelievable, ridiculous could outside. It was freezing, to the point I could see my own breath. And all I wore was a strapless dress. What kind of joke was this? I stepped out of Stiles jeep and marveled at the school in front of me. The outside had been decorated in gold stars. Beautifully dressed couples walked hand and hand into the gym where the formal was being held. I suddenly felt the aching feeling I was the only one who had come stag. It had never bothered me, that was until now. Of course I was stag. I was the awkward new girl who kept to herself and her three friends, who would want to go with her?

"Ella, are you coming?" Stiles called as him and Lydia began to walk off after Jackson and Allison who were trailing ahead.

"I'll meet you in there." I assured. Stiles had mentioned to me earlier how he'd been dreaming of a night like this with Lydia for years, so who was I to come between it?

I leaned myself against the side of Stiles' Jeep, preparing myself for what I was about to face.

I wasn't concerned about Peter, in fact, I highly doubted he'd even show up. He'd stick out like a sore thumb in the dance. And since there was no way of him luring Allison outside, he'd have no luck. My best guess was that he'd strike when Scott least expected. Though, my main purpose to my presence at this formal was to keep an eye out for Peter.

Instead of planning myself for Peter, I planned to not get wet. I decided on staying out of the dancing crowd since that's where most of the drinks would most likely be spilled. Sure, I'd be bored but it was my safest possible bet. The last thing I wanted for tonight was to end up a frozen fish stick in a janitor's closet.

Dancing wasn't my thing anyways.

* * *

The once stuffy, smelly gym had been transformed into a winter formal wonderland. There was a live band, an array of beautiful decorations hanging from the ceiling rafters, and tables covered with silky cloths. Students crowded together on the dance floor, gyrating in sync with one another as the band played their latest song. I stood on the outside of the crowd observing in silence. A few of the lacrosse boys, including Jackson and Danny, hung out by the punch bowl, pouring a small bottle of alcohol into their blue SOLO cups. Stiles was sitting at a table across the gym with Lydia. An awkward silence ensured them. My eyes darted around in search for Scott, but through the flashing lights and sea of teenagers, I failed to find his hiding spot. Nearby, Jackson and Allison were in the midst of a painfully awkward conversation where it looked like Jackson was avoiding talking as much as possible. That was until he reluctantly put his arm out and they disappeared into the crowd to dance.

"You're the new girl, right?" A blonde smoothly came up beside me and asked.

"That's me." I replied with a stiff smile. The boy was holding a cup with condensation forming on the outside.

"I'm Tim."

"You're on the lacrosse team, am I right?"

"You've seen me before." He grinned.

"My cousin plays; I guess I've seen you around."

"Who might that be?"

"Stiles."

"You don't look related." He rose a brow and eyed me up and down. _Gross_. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't. It's Ella."

"Well, Ella, it's lovely to finally meet you." He smiled, jutting out his hand. I couldn't help but notice his palm was damp from condensation.

"Is shaking hands an American thing?" I wondered in faux stupidity.

"I guess so." He chuckled and ran a hand through his locks.

"Too bad," I sighed with a smile, "Germ freak."

"Are all Aussies germ freaks…that accent is from Australia, right?"

"Your observations are impeccable, Tim."

"Wow, I love the way you say my name. _Tim_." He mocked.

"Should I be concerned you're making fun of my accent?" I smirked.

"No! It's beautiful. Much like you." He admired. I hid my blush the best I could. "How about we dance?"

"Dancing isn't really my thing." I quickly replied.

"Then why are you here?" He chuckled. I shrugged.

"I've got to see what the hype is."

"What, have you never been to a school dance before?"

"Would you be surprised if I said no?"

"Couldn't say I would be." He smirked. "Come on, let me have the pleasure of giving you the first dance." He winked. The blonde jock reached forward with his damp fingertips just as Coach Finstock's voice echoed off the gym walls.

"McCall! I see you!" He yelled in the distance. I jerked away just before he had the chance to brush my arm.

"Rain check." I winked back at him while rushing away.

"Wait, where are you going? What about that dance?"

"Maybe later, Tom." I called.

"It's Tim." He corrected in a groan. I laced myself in between drinkless dancers as I followed the sound of Finstock's threats. Within the crowd, I had lost him. But I had found Allison. I came up beside her just as the band stopped playing. We laid eyes on Scott with his arms around Danny. Finstock was stopped in his place, stumbling over his words. He awkwardly laughed, seeing the situation Scott had put him in. I looked to Allison beside me, who was quietly chuckling.

"Hold on. I was just saying—I wasn't saying—I didn't mean he shouldn't—you don't think he—I'm not—just dance! Dance everybody! Dance! It's a dance! It's a party!" Finstock ordered through cracked laughing.

"Got to admit he's a smart one." I laughed in disbelief. Immediately, Scott began rushing towards us.

"I can't believe he's here." Allison gasped in disbelief.

"And that's my cue to not." I rang while turning on my heel and walking off so the two could have their slow dance. I was more than happy to not face Scott's wrath.

* * *

The sight of lovey-dovey couples was making me sick. I finally faced the fact that there was no where to hide from them, so I took myself out of the gym. My heels clicked against the linoleum, eerily echoing through the lone hallway as I strode along. I decided to make a pit stop in the bathroom in hopes to find the magic Lydia had done on my hair hadn't fallen. Thankfully, I was happy with my findings. I grinned to myself in the mirror, eager to look less miserable.

"At least pretend like you're having fun." I sighed to myself. Underneath me, the sink pipes creaked. Just as my eyes moved to focus on the pipes, they locked in on the mirrors reflection. A small piece of paper sat taped to one of the shut stalls. It was folded in fours and on the front, one simple word was written:

 _Ella_.

My brows formed into a tight line. I had to be imagining this. Maybe I took a sip of Jackson's vodka laced punch? No, I was adamant about not having anything to drink once I came inside. I spun on my heel and marched the few quick steps forward to rip the piece of paper off the door. It definitely said Ella, there was no imagining that. My heart raced while I unfolded the piece of paper. I flinched at the slightest sound of the pipes creaking.

 _Scott didn't listen, now let's try you. The longer you don't give me Derek, the more of your friends die. Good luck._

My heart pounded like a jack hammer against my rib cage. I could hear the blood pumping through my veins pulsating in my ear drums. It was almost loud enough to sound out the rattling pipes. I hesitantly turned around to eye the sink. Their pipes had stopped creaking, yet the noise continued. This time, from above. Reluctantly, my eyes trailed up to the two fire sprinklers. One was positioned above me and the other was on the farther side of the bathroom. Both were quivering as if they'd break off the ceiling any moment. And just as the thought crossed my mind, the first sprinkler at the other side erupted. I gasped, rushing over to the door. I pulled hard on the handle, but it wouldn't open.

"No, no, no. Come on." I whispered, yanking at the handle. The door was jammed, like it was locked from the outside. The other sprinkler began shaking more. "Scott! Stiles!" I yelled, banging on the door. Finally, the second sprinkler spewed cold water everywhere. I shrieked, and in seconds I was covered in water droplets.

"This can't be happening." I repeated again and again. Ten seconds flew by and my dress and legs were exchanged for a scaly bikini top and a tail. I loudly groaned, falling back with a loud thump. My tail splashed the growing puddle of water underneath me.

Was this Peter's brilliant idea? How was I supposed to give up Derek's location, which I didn't know, if I was stuck without legs?

Then it hit me—the sickening, gut churning feeling in my stomach.

Peter knew my secret.

I could feel my skin pale to a ghostly white while waves of nausea lodged itself in my stomach and throat. Did he know? Or did he know it had something to do with water like Stiles and Scott did. Either way, I felt like I was going to be sick. Just as I raised my hand to freeze the continuously drenching sprinklers, I paused. Once I froze them, they'd just melt once I tried drying myself again. I had to wait this out till God knows when they'd stop.

* * *

 **A/N: Kind of a filler chapter. Next is where the good stuff happens. Please review! Question: how do you think Ella is going to help in taking down Peter if she can't expose herself? What about getting Derek out? Do you think Peter knows her secret now?**


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